The Sirens of Time
by SeverusHermioneForever
Summary: Part 3 of my Siren Series. Romana and the newly regenerated Braxiatel have a new companion, Martha Jones. The Face of Boe's message haunts both Time-Lord's and they are desperately searching for another of their kind. But how will both cope with the Family hunting after them? And just who is this Harold Saxon that they keep hearing about?
1. The Runaway Bride: What?

Romana and Braxiatel studied the bride carefully, weary of her and uneasy at how she so easily slipped into the TARDIS. The TARDIS has one of the best defence systems in the entire universe. Not even any of the high species could get inside it so how was it possible for a mere, primitive human to get in? Romana and Braxiatel looked at each other, agitated before Romana looked at the bride who looked beyond angry at them.

"How did you get in here?" Romana snapped, glaring at the woman. "Who were you sent by? Free Time terrorists? Assassinations attempt? Daleks?"

"Or perhaps just a ordinary bride." Braxiatel commented smoothly and the bride gave him a piercing glare.

"Tell me where I am. I demand you both to tell me right now, _where am I?_" The woman literally looked like she was going to have a break down and this was when Romana knew she was not some assassin or spy and as Braxiatel bluntly put it, a ordinary bride who just wanted to get married.

"You're inside our spaceship, otherwise known as the TARDIS." Romana replied.

The woman blinked, holding back her tears. "The what?"

"The TARDIS." Braxiatel replied, making the woman look at him. "Time and Relative Dimension in Space." Romana headed over to the console, checking the monitors. "It's bigger on the inside."

"That's not even a proper word! You're just saying things!" The bride spoke rather angrily, not believing him and Braxiatel sighed. This was going to be difficult.

"It would help if you would calm down," Romana told the bride, glancing at her. "We're both just as lost as you. Our ship has the best defences in the universe, nobody could get in so easily."

"Your _ship?" _The woman snapped. "It looks nothing like a bloomin ship! It's a mess!"

Romana stroked the TARDIS console fondly. "Don't you listen to the woman. You're the most beautiful ship in the universe." The TARDIS hummed delightedly at the comment Romana gave her and Donna moved backwards away from her, freaked out.

"How did you get in here is the most important question." Braxiatel asked, looking at her.

The bride looked at him, rigid with rage. "Well, obviously, when you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you two? Is it Nerys? Oh my god, she's finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it."

"_Remind me after all this is done to grab myself a bottle of one of your whiskeys." _Romana told him as she rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on as they watched the bride rant. Braxiatel merely smirked. _"I have a feeling I'm going to need it."_

"Whose Nerys?" Romana asked quizzically.

"Your best friend." The bride snapped as she watched Braxiatel fiddle with the controls. "I've been waiting all my life for this. I was just seconds away! And then you two! I dunno you drugged me or something!"

"We're just as lost as you are." Romana told the bride again. "We haven't met you in our lives. We-" She indicated between herself and Braxiatel. "Haven't done anything to you, that I can promise you."

"We're having the police on you!" The bride told her, ignoring Romana's comment. "Me and my husband, as soon as he is my husband, we're gonna sue the living backside out of the pair of you!"

"_I'd like to see her try that," _Braxiatel told Romana. _"You're impossible to lose in a court case."_

"_I am the best. I didn't become a politician for nothing you know." _Whilst they were communicating telepathically, Donna noticed the doors and rushed over to them and Romana looked over to her and hurried after her.

"No, you can't go out there! We're still in flight!" Romana yelled but it was too late. The bride had already thrown open the doors and was looking upon a super nova and her mouth falls open slightly. Romana and Braxiatel stood on either side of her. "Welcome to space."

"How am I breathing?" Donna asked in awe.

"The TARDIS is protecting us. That's our ship's name if you didn't hear Braxiatel mention that before."

Donna looked at them both. Today has been full of surprises and she was running out of emotions to show how surprised she was. She just wanted to get married to the man she _loved. _Was it too much to ask for? "Who are you two?"

"I'm Romanadvoratrelundar but you are more than welcome to call me Romana." She gave the bride a curt nod and the bride blinked, processing her long name.

"And I'm Irving Braxiatel, but please, call me Braxiatel. May we enquire to who you are?" Braxiatel asked politely.

"Donna." The woman whispered.

"I take it you're human?"

Donna didn't even look surprised. "Is that optional here?"

"For us it is." Romana replied gently. "But don't worry, we're not going to hurt you in any way, shape or form."

Donna glanced at them, studying them. "You're both aliens?" They didn't look like aliens but then again, their true form could be hiding underneath the skin like in those american alien movies she and her fiance Lance have been watching lately.

"Problem with that?"

Donna paused and looked back outside. She just wanted to get out of here. As beautiful as it was, she was a bride and she had to get to her husband-to-be. Oh god, it must have looked like to the others like she's done a runner! She shivered at the thought. "It's freezing with these doors open."

Braxiatel closed them shut and Romana went over to the console. "Is it all right if we have a look at you for a moment?" She asked as she grabbed an opthalmoscope. "We just need to check to see how you got into our ship then we can take you to the church to your wedding. Is that Deal?"

The bride looked hesitant. "Are you gonna prod me? Experiment on me?" She asked, her eyes wide and she moved away from them. No stupid alien was going to hurt her, no matter how nice and friendly they seem.

"No!" Romana shook her head. "No! We just want a medical check. It'll take less than ten minutes."

Donna bit her lip before nodding. "Fine." She agreed. "But then get me to the church!"

Romana used the opthalmoscope and looked into Donna's eyes before frowning. "How on Gallifrey have you got subatomic connection? Has someone been drugging you?" Romana pulled the opthalmoscope away, looking deeply troubled.

Donna looked stunned. "No! I don't know, now get me to the bloody church!"

"Fine!" Romana snapped and she and Braxiatel. "Where is your wedding anyway?"

"Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System!" Donna retorted in an almost sarcastic manner and she suddenly spots a blouse which was slung over one of the railings and she picked it up before looking at Braxiatel. "I _knew _it. Acting all innocent." She strode over to them and showed them the blouse. "I'm not the first am I? How many women have you abducted?"

"Me included?" Romana asked sarcastically and Braxiatel rolled his eyes. "We haven't abducted anyone Donna. That jacket once belong to a..._friend." _She sneered at the word friend, remembering what Rose had said to her in Torchwood. She doubted she'll ever forgive Rose for that.

"Where is she, then? Popped out for a space walk?" Donna asked sarcastically, not noticing the way Romana sneered at the thought of Rose and Braxiatel couldn't help but look amusedly at her.

"She's gone." Was all Romana could say as though it meant nothing. She hadn't forgiven Rose for what's she said to her and she doubt she'll ever will.

"Gone _where?_"

"We lost her." Braxiatel replied smoothly, causing Donna to look at him. "Chiswick did you say?" He pressed a button on the console, knowing Romana did not want to talk about Rose before frowning as he heard the sound of the TARDIS. It sounded as though it was damaged and he cast a glance at Romana. "She doesn't sound too good."

Romana stroked the console, looking concerned. "Come on old girl, you can do it. We'll have to fix her up later."

The TARDIS landed perfectly and they stepped outside and Donna looked around and turned to look at them angrily. "I said 'Saint Mary's. What sort of married Martians are you?"

"Oh no, we're not married." Braxiatel told her as they watched Romana stroke the TARDIS with concern. But he had no problem in letting Donna to thinking that they were married.

"She really doesn't sound too good. Usually she lands us where we want to go but it's as if she's ill today." Romana told them and Donna rolled her eyes. "Almost as if she's recalibrating." She went back inside the TARDIS, Braxiatel watching her from the doors as she worked on the console.

Donna was still standing outside with her mouth open, finally noticing what she stepped out of and how small it is in comparison to it's interior. Braxiatel noticed her expression and sighed. "It's bigger on the inside," He explained. "I told you this before when you arrived. Think of it like another dimension."

But Donna wasn't listening, she was practically pacing around the outside of the TARDIS, feeling the walls in utter bewilderment. Donna stood back in shock and looked at Braxiatel, her mouth wide open. "Welcome to our world, Donna."

"That box is too...weird." She choked just as Romana stepped outside the TARDIS. Donna shook her head, the strangeness of the TARDIS being too much for her. She just wanted to get married. She didn't care about spaceships or aliens. She just wanted her day to go perfect but unfortunately, it seemed as though fate had other plans for her. "I just want to get married." She sighed exaggeratedly and checked her watch, suppressing tears. "Ten past three. I'm gonna miss it."

Romana turned to Braxiatel. "No chance you have a vortex manipulator or time ring on you is there?"

"Unfortunately no."

Romana turned to Donna. "Why don't you phone your family and tell them where you are?"

"How do I do that?" Donna snapped and Romana rummaged her pockets before handing Donna her mobile. "As you can see, I have no bloody pockets!"

"Use mine." Romana told her as Donna looked it, amazed by the fact that Romana has a normal mobile phone. "I would like it back after you have used it though. I have important contact details on there."

"You're blooming Martians yet you have a normal mobile phone? What sort of rubbish aliens are you?" Donna asked sarcastically.

"This man you're marrying, what's his name?" Braxiatel asked curiously.

"Lance." Donna replied lovingly as she began to type in some numbers.

Braxiatel looked at Romana. "I have to admire Lance, I do have to say."

Donna rounded up on him, brandishing her finger at him with a terrifying abruptness. "Oi! No stupid Martians are gonna stop me from getting married. To hell with the pair of you!" She dialled a number in Romana's phone and ran off.

"We're not from Mars." Romana told her, sighing before they both began to run after her, finding themselves on a busy London street. "We're nothing like the Ice Warriors."

"Or Martians themselves." Braxiatel commented and Romana shook her head amusedly.

"Taxi!" Donna shouted, trying to call for a taxi but the taxi ignores her. "Why's his light on?"

"There's another one." Braxiatel tried to call for a taxi but was ignored and Braxiatel sighed.

"Why aren't they stopping? Are human taxi drivers usually this rude?" Romana asked, confused.

"They think I'm in a fancy dress." Donna replied irritated.

Just then, a taxi driver drove past and the driver hooted his horn at them. "Stay off the scotch darlin'!" He called and Braxiatel sneered in disgust. Human behaviour was disgusting at times.

"They think I'm in drag!" She threw her hands up in despair.

"Oh you two are absolutely hopeless. Here, let me." Romana scolded and she puts fingers between her lips and there was a long and piercing whistle, causing Donna and the nearby humans to wince and cover their ears. However, it attracted the attention of a taxi which stopped right in front of them. Romana looked smugged as the three of them clambered into the back seat.

"Saint Mary's in Chiswick, just off Hayden Road. It's an emergency, I'm getting married! Just...hurry up!" Donna shouted with irritation.

"You know it'll cost you, sweetheart? Double rates today." The driver told her.

"Oh my god!" Donna looked at the two time-lord's. "Have either of you got any money on you?"

Braxiatel patted down his suit and looked through his pockets before getting out some shillings. "No, I only have shillings I'm afraid. Not much good in this century. How about you Romana?"

Romana searched her pockets quickly before she too, shook her head. "I'm afraid to say, no this time I haven't. Usually I'm more organised but today is one of my off days." The taxi screeched to a halt and the taxi driver ordered them out and Braxiatel slammed the door.

"And that goes double for your mother!" Donna yelled angrily as the taxi driver drove off. "I'll have him. I've got his number. I'll have him. Talk about the Christmas Spirit."

At the mention of this, both Time-Lord's looked around the street to see Christmas decorations. "Christmas all ready?" Romana asked, blinking in surprise. It wasn't when they were dealing with the battle of Torchwood. It made a nice change.

"Well, duh. Maybe not on Mars, but here it's Christmas Eve." Donna replied sarcastically before getting Romana's phone out.

"How come you're getting married on Christmas Eve?" Braxiatel asked Donna.

"Can't bear it. I hate Christmas. Honeymoon in Morocco. Sunshine, lovely." Truth be told, Donna never had a happy Christmas. It was always just her, her mother and her Granddad and that was it. Her and her mother would always get into a silly argument over something stupid which would lead to shouting and slamming doors and she shook her head and Donna wished she didn't have such a bad temper.

"Sounds lovely. I prefer Paris though, especially in the Autumn. Now, use my phone to contact your relatives whilst myself and Braxiatel get some money." Romana indicated towards a nearby cash machine where a small queue was formed.

"Oh. But hang on, I thought you Martians didn't have any money?" Donna narrowed her eyes at them.

"We're not _Martians," _Braxiatel insisted. "Now do as you told. Come my Lady." He tugged Romana gently by the arm and led her to the queue.

"Oh, answer the phone!" Donna groaned, looking irritated as the phone on the other line kept ringing but it ended up on being an answer phone. "Mum, get off the phone and listen. I'm-" She looked around frantically. "Oh my god, I dunno where I am! It's a street. And there's a WH Smith but it's definitely Earth."

Romana and Braxiatel were still waiting to use the cash machine and Romana let out a suppressed sigh. "We can't even have a moment's rest." She said irritatedly. "You need your rest more than anyone at this moment as well."

"I'm feeling perfectly fine Romana. I don't think I need the zero room yet," Braxiatel replied and the man in front of them left and they moved forwards and Romana casts a furtive look around them before using her sonic screwdriver to retrieve cash from the machine. "Besides, it should be Donna you're worried about. I think I'm going to have to give this Lance of hers some credit."

Romana laughed at the comment and shook her head and Braxiatel looked around and saw Donna approaching a woman on the street, asking for money and he rolled his eyes before his eyes saw something in the distance. Further along the road was a row of masked Santa's playing trumpets but Braxiatel knew they weren't ordinary Santas and he tensed. _"We have company." _Braxiatel warned Romana telepathically and Romana grabbed the cash before looking towards where Braxiatel was looking and she stiffened.

"_Pilot fish,_" She sneered. _"Who are they working for this time?"_

"_I hope for our sake, it's not the Sycorax." _Braxiatel replied. _"I can only sword fight so many times and besides, not sure how good this body is with a sword."_

"Taxi!" They heard Donna yell and they looked at Donna as a taxi pulled up beside her and she talked to the driver for a few seconds before looking over to the Time-Lord's, closing Romana's phone. "Thanks for nothing Martians! I'll see you both in court!" She climbed into the taxi driver and that's when they saw that the taxi driver wasn't a taxi driver, but was a pilot fish.

"Donna!" Romana shouted angrily and made to move but then looked towards the army of Santa's playing trumpets that were moving towards them slowly. Both she and Braxiatel watched as one of them lowered his trumpet ominously and both Time-Lord's knew that they were deadly weapons.

Braxiatel made his way to grab his blaster but Romana was ahead of him and she pointed her sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the cash machine. A few seconds later, notes began to fly everywhere and there was a mad scramble and confusion as people around them tried to catch the money and Braxiatel grabbed Romana's hand and ran back in the direction of the TARDIS.

Braxiatel found that this new body seemed to like holding Romana's hands and he wasn't going to complain about it.


	2. The Runaway Bride: Santa's a Robot!

Note: **I'd forgot to mention in my first chapter that** **Braxiatel is now on his fifth regeneration for those who are wondering. Instead of Richard Armitage being Braxiatel, it's now Aidan Gillen who I'd like him best as Petyr Baelish from Game of Thrones! You can always use my story image cover for reference. I hope that clears everything up for you all! :)**

* * *

Romana and Braxiatel reached the TARDIS and Braxiatel snatched open the doors and ran down towards the console, quickly pummels the TARDIS into action and Braxiatel was about to use a hammer on the console but Romana stopped him.

"No. No hammers. Remember what happened last time. _You_ landed us in the wrong century." Romana scolded him and took the hammer off him. "Besides, the TARDIS is perfectly capable of getting us to Donna." The TARDIS hummed gratefully and Braxiatel merely scowled.

"Take her side why don't you." He grumbled but in a joking manner as he traced the taxi's progress on the monitor as Romana flew the TARDIS and smirked at Donna's reaction as she saw the TARDIS falling out of the sky above Donna's taxi, spinning through the air. "If only the Doctor could see us now."

"He'll be in a raging fit at the manner we're driving his TARDIS." Romana grunted. "Braxiatel, you will operate the controls whilst I talk to Donna and don't you dare use the hammer!" She ran to the doors, throwing them in to be greeted with Donna staring out of the window, her hands pressed against the window of the taxi. "Open the door!" She yelled, her black hair flying around her.

"Do you what?!" Donna shouted back, not hearing her properly. She couldn't believe the fact the TARDIS was flying alongside the taxi on a motorway!

"Open the door!"

Donna tried to open it but she shook her head. "I can't! It's locked!"

Romana grumbled. "There always has to be a locked door." She grabbed her sonic screwdriver out of her coat pocket and unlocked the door, thanking Gallifrey it wasn't deadlocked. Romana realized she has been doing that a lot lately. Thanking Gallifrey instead of Rassilon and Romana knew it was a change. Rassilon was nothing but an evil, corrupted mad man who wanted nothing more than to see her dead or with her head on a plate served for dinner and erased from history and he nearly succeeded with that too! But Romana quickly put a stop to that.

Donna pushed the window down and looked at her, terrified. "Santa's a robot!"

Humans, always stating the obvious. "I know! But Donna, you have to jump!"

Donna blinked. "What for?"

"You've got to jump! It's the only way to escape!" Romana yelled, the wind wiping at her hair and the robot driver turned it's head slightly.

"I'm not bleedin' flip jumping, I'm supposed to be getting married!" Donna replied shrilly and at this, the robot puts his foot down and the taxi overtook the TARDIS. She was not going to be ruining her wedding dress, not when it costed her a lot of money.

Romana cocked her head side-ways to look at Braxiatel. "We're losing them!"

"I'm on it!" Braxiatel replied and he dashed around the console, pressing buttons and flickering switches which caused random explosions from the console and the TARDIS bangs the roof of the car of a distressed man before pulling itself back in line with the taxi.

"Thank you!" Romana shouted back at Braxiatel before looking back towards Donna. She pointed her sonic at the robot, quickly disabling it and it collapsed on the steering wheel. "Donna, you have to trust me. You've _got _to jump."

"I'm not jumping on a motorway!" Donna replied obstinately.

"Those robots Donna are called pilot fish and they are working for someone or for _something _who want to do bad things to you," Romana yelled at her. "And that's not good. We don't want to harm you Donna but they do and all we want to do is help you. Now come on!"

"I'm in my wedding dress!" Donna yelled, trying to match Romana's yelling and very nearly succeeding too.

"And you look beautiful! Really, you do! Now you really have to jump!" Romana yelled and she held out her hand for her as Braxiatel steadily drove the TARDIS, the console still sending sparks at him and Romana wondered if the TARDIS was just doing this on purpose. "Please don't be cruel to him." Romana whispered to the TARDIS and she stroked the doors. "I know he's not his brother and we both miss him terribly but...please, just for me, be nicer to him. He _did _save my life." Romana reminded the machine and the TARDIS hummed as though apologetically and she stopped sending out explosions towards Braxiatel and Romana looked grateful. "Thank you." She turned back to face Donna. "You can do it Donna!" She yelled at the human encouragingly.

"I can't do it!" Donna looked fearful, eyeing the gap she has to jump. It looked large and it didn't help for the fact that both transports were moving.

"Trust me Donna." She held out her hand.

Donna looked up at her. "Is that what you said to her? Your friend...? The one you lost? Did she trust you?"

"She's not my friend, not anymore." Romana replied, her eyes darkening. "And she's not dead. She is very much alive but yes, she trusted me once upon a time. Now, jump!" With a scream, Donna jumped and landed on top of Romana in heap on the floor, not noticing the nearby children in the car near Donna's taxi cheering at them and Braxiatel pressed a button that closed the door and flew the TARDIS into the sky, much relieved that the TARDIS wasn't sending out anymore small explosions or sparks at him any longer.

* * *

It was a little while later and Braxiatel managed to park the TARDIS on top of a roof that overlooked London and both he and Romana had fire extinguishers in their hands, both extinguishing smoke that was billowing from the TARDIS.

Braxiatel grimaced. "She really needs fixing up later." He told Romana as they cleared up the smoke, Donna standing nearby.

"Definitely. She's doesn't need to refuel yet though which is good." Romana threw hers and Braxiatel's fire extinguishers back into the TARDIS before she joined Donna who looked at her watch sadly. "For being one of the best spaceships in the universe, our ship really doesn't do much flying but then again, she is a Type-40 TARDIS but in a few hours she should be okay." She shoved her hands in her coat pocket before looking at Donna. "How are you for now?"

Donna shrugged. "Fine."

"We missed the wedding didn't we?" Braxiatel asked her, watching her closely.

"Yeah."

"There's always the honeymoon though." He pointed out.

Donna shook her head. "It's just a holiday now." Donna sighed, looking slightly sad.

"I'm sorry Donna," Romana replied, sitting down next to her and Braxiatel sat down next to Romana. "But we will find who and what caused this, that we can promise you."

Donna gave her a small smile. "Thanks but wish your useless time machine would work though. Then we could go back and get it right."

"It doesn't work like that." Braxiatel replied, making Donna frown slightly. "Even if we could, we can't go back into someone's personal timeline. We should know, we are the masters of Time." Donna gave them a suspicious glance before shivering slightly, realizing she was freezing and Romana draped her coat around her shoulders, figuring it would be a lot warmer than Braxiatel's jacket.

"God, you're both so skinny and you have that ridiculous moustache. Is that what you Martians are like? Skinny and have silly moustaches?" Donna asked as she looked at them, trying to make the situation light and to try cheer herself up.

Braxiatel almost looked affronted. "My moustache is not ridiculous."

"Yes it is."

Romana chuckled at their banter. "You should have seen him with his previous moustache. We just do an awful amount of running, that's why we're so skinny. Here, put this on." She produced what looked like a wedding ring from her pocket.

Donna scowled. "Oh, do you have to rub it in?"

"Those Santa robots, well, Pilot fish have drugged you with something which allows them to keep track of you which is why I had to do the medical check on you before," Romana began. "This ring, otherwise known as a bio-damper should keep you hidden." She slipped the ring onto Donna's fingers. "How is it you humans get married? With this ring, I thee bio-damp." She gave a slight smile.

Donna smiled back slightly. "For better or for worse." She looked at the ring, wishing it was her own wedding ring instead before looking back at the Time-Lord's. "So, come on then. Robot Santas. What are they for? Any idea who they are working for you now?"

"We met them before," Braxiatel told her, his moustache twitching slightly. "They're very basic robo-scavengers and since it's Christmas, the Santa clause outfits are just as a disguise. We met them last Christmas." He indicated between him and Romana. "They tried to kidnap and kill Romana. Obviously they failed."

Donna frowned. "Why, what happened then?"

Romana winced at the memory, remembering how bad her regeneration went. "Did you not see the huge spaceship that was hovering over London?"

"I had a bit of a hangover." Donna replied dismissively.

Braxiatel frowned but decided not to question this and he looked over the city. He never understood why his brother loved Earth so much, not until recently. Oh, he liked Earth well enough and not just because his mother was human but because he had to admit, some of the Earth's landscapes was just beautiful. He had always appreciated fine things such as fine arts, books, music but nothing could compare to what the actual planet had to offer itself. He was a man of fine tastes.

"I think this Christmas is a bit better than the last Christmas we had though," Romana commented, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Especially when I was critically ill for the most half but I was rather pleased that I managed to see you sword fight."

Donna looked surprised at Braxiatel. "You? Sword fighting? Are you having a laugh?"

Braxiatel chuckled. "It was all a bit of a blur to be honest. I did lose my hand in the sword fight though but I've gained so much more." And he had. He had gained so much more with travelling with Romana and her companions. He had learnt new things, been to new places and it made him see things differently and for the better too.

Donna sighed. "This friend you both mentioned, well, not friend I suppose, but...who was she?"

Romana looked outwards, ignoring Donna's question. "The main question that I'm wondering is what do these pilot fish want with you? And who's been drugging you is what I want to know."

Braxiatel peered at Donna. "What's your job anyway?"

"I'm a secretary." Donna replied.

"Tell us about yourself," Romana insisted. "We'd like to know about you. That and it might gives us some clues about to why all this nonsense is happening."

Donna nodded. "Well I work at HC Clements which is where I met Lance. I was tempting. I mean, it was all a bit posh really. I'd spent the last two years at a double glazing firm. Well, I thought, I'm never gonna fit in here. And then he made me coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee." She shrugged. "And Lance, he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me! But he was nice, he was funny. And it turns out he thought everyone else was really snotty too. So that's how it started, me and him, one cup of coffee. That was it."

"How long ago was this?" Braxiatel asked.

"Six months ago."

"Well, if you're sure about not rushing into getting married..."

"Well...he insisted." Donna smirked. Technically, she kept pestering Lance to get married. She knew he was the one. At first, he had been terrified at the option but then she kept nagging him and nagging him and he ignored her at first, really he did, he even tried to shake her off a few times but in the end he gave in and accepted her marriage proposal. "And he just wore me down and then finally, I just gave in."

Romana rolled her eyes, doubting that actually happened. "But what does your company actually do? The HC Clements?"

"Oh, security systems, you know...entry codes, ID Cards, that sort of thing." She scoffed. "If you ask me, it's a post name for 'lockssmiths.'"

"Keys..." Braxiatel mused, looking thoughtful. "Keys..."

Donna looked at them both sternly. "Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is gonna be so shaming. Both of you Martians can do the explaining."

"Yeah, we're not from Mars. We're a higher species than Martians and we're nothing like them. We'd have to take you there sometime." Romana replied and Donna merely nodded as Braxiatel stood up and helped both women to their feet. "After your reception."

Donna sighed. "Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's gonna be heartbroken."

* * *

It was a little while later and Braxiatel and Romana flew Donna to the reception and it looked like everyone had decided to carry on with the reception without Donna and loud Christmas music was blaring out, full volume. Everyone was dancing, drinking, eating and laughing and the trio walked in and Donna looked around at the crowd, thunderstruck and she folded her arms when her mother spotted her in the corner and froze before the rest of the room soon followed suit until all was silent and all eyes were upon them.

"You had the reception without me?" Donna asked shrilly.

"Donna...what happened to ya?" A man asked and Romana knew that no doubt this was the Lance she was talking about and she eyed him, studying him carefully.

"You had the reception without me?!" Donna ignored him, raising her voice and an awkward pause.

"Hello! I'm Romanadvoratrelundar and this is Irving Braxiatel." Romana called cheerfully, trying to break the ice and Braxiatel gave the humans a curt nod.

Donna turned to them, looking hurt. "They had the reception without me."

"We have eyes Donna, we can see." Braxiatel replied.

"Well, it was all paid for, why not?" A snotty woman replied.

Donna's eyes narrowed at the woman. "Thank you, Nerys."

Donna's mother approached her. "Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end, _'I'm on Earth?' _Very Funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick because I'd love to know-" Suddenly the whole room started to talk at the same time until all Donna could hear was an incomprehensible babble of voices and she bursts into tears. Lance noticed this and he hugged her and she cried into his shoulders and everyone applauded and Donna winked at the Time-Lord's through her fake tears and both smirked at each other.

Romana shook her head. "Humans. I'll never understand them. Come on," Romana grabbed Braxiatel's hand and led him over to the bar before grabbing her mobile phone out. "Let's see what this HC Clements really is." They cast a furtive look around the room to make sure nobody was watching before Romana used her sonic screwdriver on her phone. The screen loaded before stating: _Sole Prop. Torchwood." _Romana sighed and looked at him. "Torchwood. Knew it."

"They were always troublesome." Braxiatel nodded before he offered a hand out to her and giving her a slight bow. "My Lady Romana, would you care for a dance?"

Romana took his hand and beamed up at him before curtsying back. "Oh of course my Lord Braxiatel. How could I possibly refuse?" Braxiatel took his lady to the middle of the dance floor and began to dance to a waltz. Back on Gallifrey, it was always important for Time-Lord's to know how to dance. They always had celebrations on Gallifrey and there were many different types of dances and luckily, Braxiatel and Romana knew them all but for now whilst they were amongst the humans, they would do a simple human dance.

"_We'll dance together properly back in the TARDIS," _Romana promised him. _"You and me, after all this has finished. And I have to say, you look rather handsome in your black suit and crimson tie."_

"_Why thank you my lady. I'm looking forward to the dance."_ Braxiatel replied as he threw Romana backwards over his arm and he looked down at her smiling before pulling her back up, the dance finishing. He lifted up her hands and kissed her knuckles, his moustache tickling her skin and Romana beamed up at him.

"Thank you for the dance," Braxiatel commented. "But for now, shouldn't we concentrate on the business at hand?"

Romana cleared her throat. "Yes, let's." They spotted a cameraman and they made their way towards him and asked him if he recorded the moment where Donna vanished.

The cameraman nodded. "I taped the whole thing, they've all had a look. They said 'sell it to You've been Framed.' I said 'more like the news.' Here we are..." He played the tape and the camera zoomed in on Donna's face as she seemingly disintegrates into golden particles with a scream.

"Yes don't sell it to either of those," Braxiatel told him as he eyed the footage before looking at Romana, both frowning. "They can't be."

"I'm afraid it is." Romana commented gravely, watching the scene.

"Huon Particles. But that should be impossible." Braxiatel shook his head.

The camera man frowned, looking confused. "What's that?"

"Huon energy shouldn't exist anymore though," Romana told Braxiatel, ignoring the camera man. "It hasn't existed for billions of years!"

"It's ancient," Braxiatel agreed before he froze and his eyes were drawn to the biodamper Romana earlier placed on Donna's fingers and Romana followed his gaze. "So ancient that it can't be hidden by a biodamper!" He grabbed Romana's hand and they both ran as fast as they could to a window and Romana suppressed an irritated groan as they saw pilot fish making their way slowly towards the house, still dressed in their Santa disguises. They quickly ran over to Donna who was chatting to a friend.

"Donna!" Romana yelled and Donna turned around to look at them, both looking concerned. "Donna! They've found you."

Donna frowned. "But you said I was safe."

"The biodamper doesn't work on ancient particles I'm afraid. We have to get everyone out, now."

Donna looked around, her mouth dropping open in horror. "Oh my god, it's all my family..."

"Out the back door!" Braxiatel called and he dashed over, only to be confronted with two Santa's. "Perhaps not." He slammed the door shut and ran back inside before darting over to another window only to see that they were surrounded by two more Santa's.

"We're trapped." Donna gaped.

"Yeah, thanks for stating the obvious." Romana replied sarcastically when she looked at the Santa's more closely and her eyes widened as she noticed the Santa's holding what appeared to be a remote control and she quickly looked at the Christmas tree in the middle of the room, remembering what happened last time. "Christmas trees..." She breathed and Braxiatel looked in the direction she was looking before he too, froze with horror.

Donna frowned. "What about them?"

"They kill." Without another word, Romana ran into the crowd. "Get away from the tree!" She yelled, moving the young kids away.

"Everyone if you could please move away from the tree. Irving Braxiatel, representing health and safety," He quickly showed them the psychic paper before storing it back in his pocket. "I want everyone to move away from the Christmas trees. We are checking some health and safety holdings on them." Donna ushered a group of little girls away from the trees and everyone obeyed what Braxiatel was saying all but Donna's mother.

Donna's mother scoffed. "Oh, for God's sakes, the man's an idiot! Why? What's a Christmas tree gonna...oh!" She trailed off as she watched some of the baubles float away from the tree in some kind of formation.

"Bombs." Romana muttered darkly. "I know one when I see them." She eyed them mistrustfully as they hovered above everyone's heads before they suddenly started to dive-bomb, just as Romana had predicted. The war taught her that.

Everyone started to scream and run for cover when the baubles began to dive to the ground, causing explosions, all apart from Romana and Braxiatel. Donna pulled Lance down to hide under a table with her whilst the Time-Lord's ran over to the DJ stand whilst the Santa's were lined up on opposite sides.

"Oi! Santa's!" Romana yelled angrily and the Santa's looked at them. "I have some advice for you and your leader. If you're attacking two highly experienced soldiers with two sonic screwdrivers..." She and Braxiatel got out their sonic screwdrivera and moved them towards the microphone. "Don't let the soldiers near the sound system."

They held out their sonic screwdrivers next to the amplifiers and they made a horrible, high-pitched screeching sound and everyone but the Time-Lord's covered their ears and the pilot fish began to vibrate violently until they fell to pieces. Both Time-Lord's removed the sonic screwdrivers and they ran over to them to examine the mechanics of the Santa's. Ignoring the humans who were helping each other up, Braxiatel examined the robots. "Experienced soldiers?" He asked, looking at the equipment he was holding.

"Well we are, are we not? Besides, I didn't want to give our species away just yet. We don't know what we're dealing with." Romana shrugged before Donna came over to them.

"It looks like there's two remote controls," Braxiatel mused as he showed both ladies what he was holding. "One controls the decorations and the other controls the robots themselves. Doesn't look like they're ordinary scavengers Romana. It looks like someone has actually taken possession of them."

"Never mind all that. Romana, you said you were both experienced soldiers but you two look nothing like soldiers. What do you mean by that?" Donna asked gently.

Romana purposefully ignored her question as she studied a bauble. "Looks like whoever is in charge wants you alive but luckily, these pilot fish are deactivated for now." She threw Donna a bauble.

"Can't you two help?" Donna asked, catching the bauble before carefully putting it back down again, as though afraid it might go off. "There are people injured here!"

"We have to think inside the box." Braxiatel mused. "Luckily the box is bigger on the inside and there's the signal!" With his spare hand, he grabbed Romana's hand and they took off with Donna following them.

Donna's mother stopped Donna, looking scared. "Donna...who are _they?_ Who are those soldiers?"

Donna didn't have time to answer for she barely knew herself and she followed after the Time-Lord's, being careful not to trip over her wedding dress and not noticing Lance staring after her.

Donna followed the Time-Lord's back outside where Braxiatel was stood still, scanning the helmet with his own sonic screwdriver with Romana peering over his shoulder, looking troubled.

"Someone must want you badly." She commented to Donna as Donna walked up towards them. "If they took full control of these robots."

"But why is it me? What have I done?" Donna asked, frowning. She wasn't of any importance. She was nothing special.

"Once we find the controller, we will be able to find out for you." Braxiatel replied. "Now there we go, we have a signal!" He raised his sonic screwdriver into the air. "Looks like the headquarters is in the sky."

"Headquarters?" Romana asked amusedly.

"Well, main signal I suppose. Damn it, I've lost it." He shook his sonic screwdriver, trying to get back at the signal but it was no use. It was completely lost. He turned to Romana and Donna. "We need to go to HC Clements. Lance!" He yelled as he spotted Lance walking over to them. "Can you give us a lift?"


	3. The Runaway Bride: Joy to the World

The four of them arrived at HC Clements and they ran into the building, Donna in the lead as she led them to her office and Romana went straight to a computer. "This might just be a locksmiths to you but HC Clements was brought up twenty three years ago by the Torchwood Institute." Romana told them.

Donna frowned. "Who are they?"

Braxiatel looked at her. "They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf." Another blank face. "...Cybermen Invasion? London Skies full of Daleks?"

"Oh, I was in Spain."

"They had Cybermen in Spain." Romana pointed out as she began to type.

"Scuba diving."

Braxiatel shook his head. Something was wrong but he couldn't place his finger on it. "Only you would miss alien invasions." He went onto the computer next to Romana. "Basically, Torchwood was destroyed in the battle of Canary Wharf but HC Clements stayed in business and I presume someone else took over the operation." He soniced the computer.

"But what do they want with me?" Donna asked, still confused as to what her part in this was.

Romana stopped typing and looked at Donna, giving Donna her full attention. "Someone has been drugging you with ancient Huon energy and that is a problem because Huon energy itself hasn't existed since the Dark times and really, in reality the only place where you can really find Huon particles is a remnant in the heart of the TARDIS so that's how you arrived in our ship. You understand?" Romana asked but Donna blinked in confusion before shaking her head. Romana grabbed a nearby mug. "Say this mug is the TARDIS." Braxiatel threw her a pencil and Romana caught it. "And this pencil is you. The particles inside you are activated and two sets of particles magnetise which then pulls you into the TARDIS." She threw the pencil into the mug.

"I'm a pencil inside a mug?" Donna asked weakly.

"Yes and a 4H pencil at that." Romana put the mug down. "Lance, could you tell us what HC Clements was working on? Anything that looked suspicious?"

"I don't know, I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager." Lance said defensively and Romana looked at him as though there was something he wasn't telling them before she turned back to the computer, pointing her sonic screwdriver to the screen and going to the page she was searching for all along. "Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?"

"Your company makes keys but, look at this." On the computer was a 3D plan of the building on the screen. "We're on the third floor. Then you have the underneath reception, basement yes?" The humans nodded and they all made their way over to the lift and Romana looked inside at the controls. "But how come when you look at the lift itself, there's a button marked 'lower basement?' This floor doesn't exists on the official plans so, my question is, what is down there?" The lift door closes on them.

Lance frowned. "Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?"

"No, we're showing you Aladdin's cave," Braxiatel retorted sarcastically, making Romana laugh and Lance narrowed his eyes at him.

Donna rolled her eyes. "It needs a key."

"It doesn't when I have my sonic screwdriver," Romana replied and soniced the lock. "You two can go and get married now, we can handle this on our own. We are experts at these sorts of matters."

Donna scoffed. "No chance Mr and Mrs Martian. You Martians are the ones that are keep saving my life and I ain't about to let either of you out of my sight." She pointed her finger at them, looking at them both sternly and telling them she wasn't going anywhere.

"We're not married. I was his President and he was my Lord Cardinal though," Romana told them and Donna looked surprised at this, as did Lance. "But that's fine with us. What about your soon-to-be-husband?"

Donan looked at Lance pointedly. "Maybe you should open the doors open and I'll go and get the police." He meekly commented but Donna raised an eyebrow and he reluctantly sighed, knowing he has no choice in the matter.

Braxiatel looked at him. "To honour and obey?"

Lance looked amused. "Tell me about it, mate."

"Oi!" Donna scolded and playfully whacked Lance on the shoulders just as the lift was going down. The lift pings when it reached the lower basement and the four of them stepped out onto a long, dark dank corridor, dimly lit with an eerie green light.

"Where are we? Well, what goes on down here?" Donna asked looking around.

Braxiatel stiffened, knowing this corridor all too well. This was the corridor where he regenerated from. Where he saved Romana from getting exterminated by Dalek Sek. "This is where I died." He told them softly. "Not a place you really want to visit again."

Romana squeezed his hand. "I thank you for saving my life that day Brax. I owe you that but come on, let's find out what's going on here."

Donna shook her head, not understanding what the Time-Lord's were talking about. Died? How was that possible? Braxiatel was alive and well in front of her! But then again, these aliens could somewhat be immortal. "Do you think Mr. Clements knows about this place?" She asked as she and Lance followed them.

"I wouldn't be surprised if HC Clements was apart of this," Braxiatel replied, his moustache twitching before his eyes caught on something in the corner. "And it looks like we have transport too." They turned around to see four electric scooters and they all got on one each. Lance on one end, Braxiatel and Romana in the middle and Donna at the other and they were all trundling down the corridor on the scooters, looking extremely comical.

Donna looked at the Time-Lord's and Lance before bursting out laughing and Romana laughed delightedly and Braxiatel gave a slight chuckle but Lance merely raised an eyebrow, looking confused.

Romana stopped in front of a door which was labelled 'Torchwood' and they all came to a halt and abandoned their scooters as Braxiatel turned the wheel before opening the door and peering upwards before looking back at them. "You humans stay here. Myself and Romana just need to get our bearings and whilst we are gone, _don't_ do anything stupid." He turned to Romana. "Ladies first."

Romana smiled pleasantly at him. "Why thank you my Lord Cardinal." Braxiatel rolled his eyes as Romana started up the ladder.

"You both better come back." Donna told them.

"Trust me, we're impossible to get rid of. The universe tried to get rid of Romana and failed." He shrugged before climbing after Romana.

Lance turned to Donna. "Donna...have you thought about this? Properly? I mean, this is serious! What the hell are we gonna do?"

Donna ignored him. "Oh, I thought July." She smiled brightly before turning her attention back to the Time-Lord's who were still climbing the ladder.

Romana reached the top of the ladder where she was confronted with the underside of a manhole. She opened it up and climbed out into day light and Braxiatel joined her. They stood, over looking the Thames Flood barrier.

"Pitiful." Braxiatel commented gazing around the area before shaking his head. "Come, let's go back down to the underground."

"Ah, the underground." Romana grimaced. She always hated the underground, especially during the Time-War when she was hunted from both sides. The underground was were all the horrors lurked underneath. "How I despise it." She jumped off the last rung of the ladder and Braxiatel did the same. She looked over at the humans. "Looks like Torchwood built the whole place underneath the Thames Flood barrier."

"What, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?" Donna asked in awe.

"Oh I know, completely unheard of." Romana smirked before they entered what appeared to be a laboratory, full of different sizes of test tubes that were bubbling away along with other types of chemistry equipment.

"Oh this is beautiful!" Romana couldn't help but exclaim, looking around at it with appreciation. It had been too long since she has come across a decent laboratory."What a beautiful laboratory! Ah the particle extrusion!"

"What does it do?"

Romana didn't have time to answer her question and she darted over to one of the bubbling tubes and taps on it, Braxiatel examining some of the scientific equipment that was laid upon the desk. "This is beautiful. Who ever holds this laboratory have been manufacturing Huon particles. In case our people got rid of the Huons for ever, they unravelled the atomic structure."

Lance frowned. "Your people? Who are they? What company do you represent?"

"But Romana, whoever _they _are," Braxiatel began, ignoring Lance. "Are rebuilding them by using the river. To me, it looks as if they have been extruding them through a flat hydrogen base so they have the end result which is to have Huon particles in a liquid form." He picked up a small test tube full of Huon particles and Romana looked through it on the other side, making her eye look bigger.

"And that's what's inside me?" Donna asked. Braxiatel turned a knob at the top of the test tube, making the contents inside of it glow which made Donna glow at the same time. She looked down at herself, shocked. "Oh, my god!"

Braxiatel nodded, his moustache twitching. "Because the particles are inert, they have to have something living to be able to catalyse inside which is you. So they saturate the body which is what happened to you at the wedding when you vanished and appeared into our spaceship." Donna nodded, understanding. "So, you're at your wedding when you have a chemical war inside you so it triggered it."

"But tell me this, Braxiatel, Romana. These particles...are they dangerous? Am I safe?"

"For now, but we don't know how long for." Romana admitted truthfully.

"But it still doesn't make any sense. If your people got rid of Huon particles, what for?"

"They were dangerous and anything dangerous, has to be destroyed." Braxiatel commented. Donna's eyes widened. "But we will sort it out Donna. Whoever done this to you, we promise we will reverse it. We are not going to lose you."

Suddenly there were loud crashes and bangs that seemed to echo all around the room and Braxiatel quickly got out his blaster, looking around and he unconsciously grabbed Romana's hand, pulling her close to him.

"Oh, she is long since lost." A voice hissed and suddenly, on one of the wall slides upwards to reveal a secret chamber with an enormous round hole in the floor. "I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe..." Lance eyes widened with horror and he hurriedly retreated through the door. "Until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!" The walls of the chamber were lined with the armed robots wearing black hoods and Braxiatel tightened his grip on his blaster.

"Oh very Torchwood." Romana commented dryly as she peered down the hole. "Drilled by laser. Tell me, how far does it go down?"

"Down and down, all the way to the centre of the Earth!" The voice hissed again.

"But what for?" Braxiatel had to ask.

"Dinosaurs." Donna replied, shuffling forwards.

Romana blinked, looking confused. "What?"

"Dinosaurs?" Donna suggested again, hoping they would get the reference.

"Dinosaurs? There are no dinosaurs down there." Romana peered down the hole again as though to double check. "At least I don't think so."

"What are you talking about dinosaurs for?" Braxiatel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That film, Under the Earth, with the Dinosaurs. Trying to help!" Donna shrugged, looking sheepish.

"It's really not helping." Braxiatel commented, shaking his head. He had never seen the film.

"Such a sweet friendship." The voice hissed.

"Only a madwoman would talk to thin air and if I were you, you really don't want to make me mad otherwise there will be consequences." Romana replied.

"Trust me when she says that. Her being mad is not something you want to see." Braxiatel inputted, smirking and Donna looked amused.

Romana scowled."Besides, where are you? Its very rude to hide your face when you are talking to someone. Maybe not in your culture perhaps, but in ours it's considered rude." Romana told them.

"High in the Sky, floating so high on Christmas Night."

"We didn't travel all this way to talk to you on the intercom. You're being very rude have I mentioned that?" Romana replied.

"Who are you with such command?" The voice hissed angrily.

"You really don't want to know." Braxiatel replied, smirking and Romana rolled her eyes.

"Then prepare your best medicines, _strangers, _for you will be sick at heart." Suddenly, a Racnoss appeared in the chamber, snarling and growling at them. But it was no ordinary Racnoss, it was the _Empress._

"Racnoss!" Romana snarled. "I thought your people were extinct."

"Empress of the Racnoss." The Empress hissed, ignoring Romana's statement.

Braxiatel frowned. "Excuse me but if you're the Empress where is the rest of your people? You can't be an Empress without having to rule others."

"Unless she's the last of her kind." Romana commented grimly and Braxiatel nodded in understanding. Romana looked at Donna. "The Racnoss are from the Dark Times which was billions and billions of years ago. They were a carnivores, omnivores and devoured whole planets."

"Racnoss are born starving! Is that our fault?!" The Racnoss hissed, insulted.

Donna grimaced. "They eat people?"

"This HC Clements of yours, did he wear black and white shoes?" Braxiatel asked, looking up at the ceiling.

Donna grinned. "He did! We used to laugh, we used to call him the fat cat in spats." Braxiatel pointed up to a web on the ceiling where they could see a pair of black and white shoes still attached to the unfortunate HC Clements. Donna's eyes widened with horror. "Oh my god!"

"Mm, my Christmas dinner!" The Empress cackled.

"But the thing is, _your majesty, _you shouldn't exist. Let's go and take a mini history lesson." Romana began to pace up and down in front of the Empress, hands in pockets. "Remember the Fledgling Empires? They went to war against your people then they were wiped out." Suddenly, Lance appeared on a balcony above the Racnoss was ignorant of his presence and Donna and Braxiatel spotted him and Braxiatel couldn't help but frown, not liking what he was doing and Lance motions for them to stay silent.

"Except for me." The Empress snarled.

"But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing. Oi! Look at me, lady, I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How come I get all stacked up with these Huon particles?" Donna asked angrily, trying to distract the Empress as Lance descended the stairs, axe at the ready. "Look at me, you! Look at me in the eye and tell me!"

"The bride is so feisty!"

"Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big...thing. But a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!" Donna yelled and Lance who was about to swing the axe and the Empress swung around and hisses at the last moment but then he stopped. He glanced around at Donna before he started to laugh and the Empress laughed with him. Romana shook her head, disgusted.

"That was a good one! Your face!" Lance laughed.

"Lance is funny." The Empress hissed, laughing.

"What?" Donna blinked, looking hurt.

"I'm sorry Donna." Romana told her quietly.

"Sorry for what? Lance, don't be so stupid! Get her!"

Lance stared at her pityingly. "God, she's so thick." Donna looked at him, confused. "Months I had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map."

"I don't understand?" Donna asked, uncomprehending.

"You met Lance in the office didn't you?" Romana asked her and Donna nodded. "He made you coffee. Back in the TARDIS, I've said someone been drugging you with Huon energy. To me, it looks like Lance has been drugging you with liquid particles over six months."

Donna looked flabbergasted. "He was poisoning me?"

Braxiatel nodded grimly. "And if you look closely at his job title, _head of Human Resources._" Donna looked sickened.

"This time, it's personnel." Lance spoke and he and the Racnoss laughed.

"But...we were getting married." Donna spoke.

Lance shrugged. "Well, I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap, yap, yap. X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, dear God, the never ending foundation of fat, stupid trivia." Donna listened to the torrent of abuse, looking extremely hurt and confused. "I deserve a medal."

"Is that what you offered him then?" Romana asked the Racnoss. "What are you in return? Her consort?"

"It's better than a night with her." Lance sneered, pointing at Donna.

"But I love you." Donna said plaintive. She had given him her love only for him to abuse it.

"That's what made it easy. The big picture. What's the point of it all if the Human Race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to...to go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think you, Romana and you, Braxiatel, can understand that can't you?"

"Who are these strangers? They have yet to introduce themselves." The Racnoss hissed.

"They're Martians but not just any Martians. They said they were soldiers and she," Lance pointed at Romana. "Was President whilst Braxiatel was her Lord Cardinal. Whatever job that is."

"We're homeless for now," Romana glared at them. "But the main thing we want to know is, what's the point of this? What are you hiding down there?"

"I think the soldier wants to talk." Lance sneered. "Or should we say, _President?" _He gloated.

"I think so too." The Racnoss hissed, smirking.

Romana looked angry. "How dare you mock me you filthy, cowardly, human scum!" She spat, looking furious and Braxiatel had to hold her back. "How dare you!"

"Enough!" The Racnoss shouted. "Kill this chattering little President and her soldier man!"

"Don't you hurt them!" Donna yelled as she stood in front of the Time-Lord's protectively.

"It's all right Donna," Braxiatel replied, soothing Romana and Donna. He had to be calm.

Donna looked at him, frightened. "No, I won't let them hurt either of you!"

"At arms!" The Empress yelled and the pilot fish pointed their guns at them.

Braxiatel smirked, indicating Donna next to Romana whilst he took charge. "Ah now. If you excuse me, but may I point out the obvious?"

"Take aim! They won't hit the bride. They're such very good shots." The Racnoss told them.

"Let me explain something to you, Racnoss. If you think about it, the particles that are activated in Donna drew her inside our spaceship. So...if we reverse it, our spaceship will come to her." He once again tweaked the tube of Huon particles which causes both the particles in the tube and inside Donna to glow.

"Fire!" The Empress yelled, ignoring him and the robots fire their guns but it was too late, the TARDIS had all ready materialised round them and the three of them were safely inside.

"Braxiatel, the controls!" Romana yelled as she and Braxiatel dashed around the controls. Romana looked over at Donna. "Donna, how would you feel if we took you back in time?" She smirked and Donna blinked. "We're going back in time to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up so we're going back to the beginning of the Earth to see what she planted there. Are you ready?"

But Donna shoulders began to shudder and silent tears poured down her cheeks and she cried into her hands. Romana and Braxiatel looked at each other, unsure what to do and shook their heads and continued to fly the TARDIS towards their destination. A few seconds later, the TARDIS quietens down and they arrived at their destination. Romana and Braxiatel peered around the console at the miserable Donna who was now sat in one of the Captain's chairs. "Would you like to see something beautiful Donna?" Romana asked softly. "It might cheer you up."

"I s'pose." Donna replied, unenthusiastically.

Romana nodded and she and Braxiatel made their way towards the TARDIS door and Donna stood up and joined them. Braxiatel looked at Donna. "As far as I'm aware, you are the very first human to see this."

"All I want to see is my bed." Donna told them miserably and Romana couldn't help but laugh.

"Donna Noble, may we present you the creation of the Earth." Braxiatel opened the doors gracefully and Donna's mouth fell open. The sun shone through beautiful coloured dust and gas clouds where enormous rocks were floating by them. "We have travelled back 4.6 billion years. At the moment, there is no solar system. Just dust and rocks and gas." He pointed out towards the sun. "That's the sun over there. Just beginning to burn."

Donna frowned. "Where's the Earth?"

"It's all around us. In the dust. It has yet to form." Romana replied.

"Puts the wedding in perspective. Lance was right. We're just...tiny."

"Not necessarily," Braxiatel replied. "Because that's what you humans are good at. You make sense out of chaos. You balance it out and mark it with weddings and Christmases and calenders. The whole process itself can be considered beautiful, but only if it's being observed."

"So, I came out of all this?" Donna asked.

"In a way, yes." He nodded.

A massive chunk of rock floats lazily past the TARDIS and Donna watched it go. "I think that's the Isle of Wight." They all laughed lightly. It was nice, having this moment.

"Eventually, gravity takes hold. If you have one big rock which is heavier than the others, it will start to pull other rocks towards it. This will then attract all the dust and gas and elements and will pull all this in until you get the..."

"The Earth." Donna nodded.

"So our main question is now, where is that big rock?" Romana frowned when they spotted a star shaped rock emerge through the clouds.

"Look!" Donna pointed towards it.

"The Racnoss." Romana sighed heavily before going back to the console. "But the Racnoss is hiding from the war! Why is it here? What is she up to?" She turned a wheel frantically. "What it doing?"

The rocks, the particles of dust and gas were all zooming towards the Racnoss as though they were drawn by a magnetic force. "Exactly what you both said." Donna told her.

"But they didn't just bury something at the centre of the Earth. Unless..." Braxiatel looked thoughtful, his brain thinking. "She could be hiding her children down there. _If _she had children."

Donna was about to say something when the TARDIS suddenly shuddered violently and they were all nearly knocked off their feet. "What was that?" Donna asked, looking worried.

"Trouble." Romana shouted over as she steered the TARDIS and Braxiatel closed the door. The three of them struggling to keep their balance as the TARDIS shudders and tips.

"What the hell is it doing?" Donna yelled over the noise of the TARDIS.

"Remember the trick I pulled back with the particles pulling particles? Well, it can also work in reverse. They're pulling us back!" Braxiatel replied and he and Romana desperately tried to pilot the TARDIS and he was thankful that it wasn't sending out anymore explosions out at him as they whirled through the vortex.

"Well, can't either of you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?" Donna asked, looking bewildered at them.

"Oh the joys of having a backseat driver." Romana commented as she flew the TARDIS before she dove underneath the console and appearing out of it, an object in her hand. "The extrapolator! Ha! It can't stop us but it should be safe for us to land." She used it and she and Braxiatel safely landed the TARDIS in a nearby chamber. The three of them stepped out of the TARDIS and Romana sniffed her surroundings "Seems to me we're 200 yards to the right. This way!" She began to run and Donna and Braxiatel followed behind.

They arrived at the doorway, leading up to the Thames Flood barrier and Donna stopped, panting and out of breath. "But what do we do?"

"She hasn't got a plan." Braxiatel remarked, smirking. "She's just making this up as we go along. One of the reasons why we made her President."

"Hey now!" Romana shouted, mock insulted. "Of course I have a plan. I improvise, your brother taught me that."

Donna shook her head, amused. "But I still don't understand. I'm full of particles, but what for?"

"Our people unravelled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss are stuck." Suddenly a robot grabbed Donna from behind and Braxiatel noticed and he got out his blaster and aimed at it, blowing off it's head and letting go off Donna. Another one came up behind him and almost grabbed him but he too, quickly dissembled the robot and both robots lay broken on the floor.

Romana paused at her work and looked at them. "Donna! Braxiatel! Are you two okay?" She asked, concerned.

Donna looked shaken. "I'm fine. If it wasn't for Braxiatel, I would have been kidnapped by now."

Braxiatel cleaned the tip of his blaster before storing it away in his pocket. "Which is why a soldier should never venture out unprepared." His moustache twitched before he looked at Romana. "What were you saying about the Racnoss Romana?"

"Well as I was saying before we were rudely interrupted by those pilot fish," She glared at the robots. "Our people unravelled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss would basically be stuck in hibernation for billions of years so you are the new key to wake them. The empress needs you to open it really." She frowned. "But no time for that we need to think of a plan!"

* * *

Donna walked into the room nervously, looking around and she saw Lance tied up on the ceiling and she glared at him distastefully. "I hate you." She told him, rather glad she had not married him and was not joined by his side at the ceiling. If it wasn't for Braxiatel saving her, she knew that was where she would be right now. "Racnoss, I have come to surrender."

"Yeah, I think we've gone a bit beyond that now, sweetheart." Lance retorted, not looking happy.

"My golden couple. Together at last! Your awful wedded life. Tell me; have you come here to rescue your beloved?" The Racnoss mocked.

"In a way." Donna replied coldly, looking at the Racnoss.

"Well, if you want him to be released you're supposed to say _I do." _The Racnoss smirked.

"Ha! No chance." Lance muttered darkly.

"Say it!"

Donna glanced at Lance and Lance, managing his best despite the position he was in looked at her. "I do." He spat.

"I do." Donna replied.

"I _don't._" The Racnoss cackled. "Activate the particles. Purge every last one!"

Donna was surprised at the fact that the Empress hadn't asked her how she got her or where Romana and Braxiatel were but she was just grateful for the fact that the plan was in place. She glanced down at herself to see the particles extract themselves not only from her but from Lance as well and they zoomed down into the hole in the ground.

"The secret heart unlocks and they will waken from their sleep of Ages."

"What? Your children?" Donna scoffed, knowing that the Empress children were down there. Braxiatel had told her that much.

"Oh she's figured something out." Lance snarled, rolling his eyes.

The Racnoss nodded. "My children, the long lost Racnoss. Now will be born to feast on flesh!" They heard the chirping of the spiders and the patters of their feet could be heard coming up from the hole. "The web-star shall come to me!" She looked at Donna. "My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web."

"Use her! Not me! Use her!" Lance cried desperately.

"Oh, my funny little Lance! You are all ready tied up! Besides, you are quite impolite to your lady-friend. The Empress does not approve." The web around Lance loosens and he tumbled down the hole, screaming.

Donna rushed over to the edge of the chamber, watching with horror. "Lance!" Even though she hated him now, a tiny part of her still loved him.

At that point, two robots began to ascend the stairs that were running up the side of the chamber. "Harvest the humans! Reduce them to meat. My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them!" The Racnoss hissed and turned to look at the robots. "So you might as well unmask, my clever little President and soldier or should I say, her Lord Cardinal who both have yet to reveal their names?"

"It was worth a try." Romana shrugged and both she and Braxiatel removed the mask and cloak. "Oh, all right since we have been rather rude to you and not introduce ourselves. Dear me, where are my manners? I'm Romana and this is Braxiatel by the way. Hello!" She waved before looking down at Donna. "All right down there Donna?"

"I'm fine!" Donna couldn't help but give a slight smile at the sight of them and ran underneath the stairwell they were standing on, standing far away from the Empress.

"This Romana-woman amuses me." The Racnoss hissed.

"Really? That's a first. I never knew she could be funny." Braxiatel commented and Romana rolled her eyes.

"Empress of the Racnoss, I am here by now acting President and Braxiatel is acting as my Lord Cardinal. I am giving you a chance to go somewhere that is not Earth. A place to start fresh for you and your children where you can coexist. A better future for your children, would you like that?" Romana asked seriously, full of authority.

"This man and woman are so funny." The Racnoss laughed.

"I don't have time to be made mockery of Racnoss. Do you accept our proposal? You have two chances. This is your first chance." Romana snapped.

"Oh, I'm afraid I have to decline."

Braxiatel shook his head, almost sadly. "What happens to you next is your own doing. Not ours."

"I'll show you two what happens next. At arms!" The Empress hissed and the robots raised their guns. "Take aim!" They aimed their guns at Romana and Braxiatel and Romana held her head high, looking proud. "And-"

"Relax." Braxiatel commented smoothly and the robots go limp.

Donna grinned. "How did you do that?"

"Guess what we have Donna?" Braxiatel called cheerily and he produced a remote control that one of the robots had earlier from one of his pockets. "Pockets!"

"How did that fit in there?!"

"It's bigger on the inside."

"Robo-forms are not necessary. My children feast on Martian flesh!" The Racnoss hissed.

"But that's where you are wrong, We're not from Mars." Romana replied coldly.

"Then where?"

Romana stood to her full height, looking proud. "Our home planet belonged to the shining world of the seven systems. It has long since been destroyed but it's name and legend lives on as do our people and it's children." She glared at the Racnoss darkly. "Gallifrey."

The Empress was suddenly full of anger at the mention of Gallifrey. "They murdered the Racnoss!"

"We did warn you." Braxiatel produced a handful a baubles and Romana produced more explosions.

"No! No! Don't!" The Empress cried, panicking, itching towards to protect her children.

"Do you accept our proposal now? This is your last chance." Romana asked once more. "I have no desire to harm you or your children, Racnoss. Accept our offer and no harm shall come to you and your family again."

The Racnoss glanced desperately at her children, knowing if she didn't accept, the Time-Lord's would destroy them! Murder them in cold blood like they have done the rest to her people! But if she accepted Romana's offer, perhaps she could start fresh on a new distant planet. Somewhere where her children would not be harmed by foolish humans or Time-Lord's. But these Time-Lord's weren't like the rest. They were giving her a second chance to live, something which was a rare opportunity for her kind.

"Do you accept?" Romana pressed again, more harshly.

The Racnoss looked at her, hesitant. "This new place...will any harm come to us?"

Romana smiled. "No. No there won't be. That we can promise you."

The Racnoss gave a slow, nod. "Then I accept your offer."

Braxiatel put away the baubles. "Well I'm rather glad you took the offer. It is Christmas after all and everyone should be celebrating Christmas." He commented and he looked at Romana. "Shall I go and get the TARDIS?"

* * *

After taking the Racnoss and her children to a safe, distant planet where the Empress herself swore to Romana's words and laws that she would live in peace, they took Donna back home and the TARDIS materialised across a road from Donna's house and Donna and the Time-Lord's stepped out.

"The TARDIS is fine," Romana smiled, stroking the old box. "Your brother was right, she's a tough old girl."

"That she is. The strongest, bravest, TARDIS I have ever seen in my lives." Braxiatel commented and the TARDIS hummed gratefully at the words. "She can survive anything."

"More than I've done." Donna commented.

Romana quickly scanned her. "No more Huon particles. Good news is no damage has come to you so you are completely fine."

Donna shook her head. "Yeah, but apart from that...I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day. Sort of."

"I'm sorry we couldn't save him." Braxiatel commented.

"He deserved it." Donna replied, unfeelingly and Romana raised a perfect sculptured eyebrow and Donna's face softens. "No, he didn't." She looked back at her house. "I'd better get inside. They'll be worried."

"Best Christmas present they could have." Romana smiled and they watched Sylvia and her Granddad embrace each other through the window before she winced. "I forgot, you hate Christmas don't you?"

Donna nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I do."

"Even if it snows?" Braxiatel drawled and he tweaked a hidden switch on the TARDIS and a ball of light shoots out of the top and exploded like a firework in the night sky before turning into falling snow.

Donna laughed with delight. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Very simple basic atmospheric excitation." Braxiatel shrugged gracefully and Romana merely shook her head and grinned at Donna.

"I swear you just love to show off don't you Braxiatel?" Romana asked, looking amused.

Donna grinned back. "Merry Christmas."

"And you too Donna. What are you going to do with yourself now?" Braxiatel asked.

"Not getting married for starters. And I'm not gonna temp anymore. I dunno...travel...see a bit more of planet Earth...walk in the dust. Just...go out there and do something." Donna replied.

"You could always come with us," Romana commented. "You're not so bad for a human.

Donna smiled at that. "No, I can't."

"That's fine."

Donna shook her head, overwhelmed. "No, but really...everything we did today...do both of you live your lives like that?"

"Yes," Romana nodded. "It's the way we live."

"I think you both could live like that, but I...I couldn't."

"It's beautiful out there, you've seen it for yourself." Braxiatel reminded her.

Donna nodded. "And it's terrible." She looked at Romana. "If you hadn't given the Racnoss a second chance, that place would have been flooding and burning and there would have been dying children. What made you change your mind about it?"

Romana looked down at the ground, not meeting Donna's eyes. "I hate to see children cry." Romana replied softly, remembering all those children she killed on Gallifrey. Leela's son, all the ones who had children on her council and the whole planet. She hated it. Couldn't bear it.

Donna looked at her sadly, wondering what was going through her head. "Tell you what I will do though, Christmas dinner. Both of you. Oh, come on."

"We don't do that sort of thing. Besides, Romana still owes me a dance." Braxiatel indicated towards Romana.

Donna laughed. "Are you sure? Mum always cooks enough for twenty."

"No thank you Donna. If we do go in there, it just gets domestics for us." Braxiatel shook his head.

"Am I ever going to see either of you again?" Donna asked, realizing that they were leaving.

"Perhaps. If you're lucky."

"Just...promise me one thing; find someone." Donna told them.

"We have each other." Romana smiled. "More than enough for us."

Donna laughed. "No, I mean find someone. Because sometimes, it might not always be this easy and I think you might need someone to stop you if it comes to that time."

Braxiatel and Romana looked at each other, realizing that Donna was right before looking back at the human. "We will."

"Romana? Braxiatel?" Donna asked, stopping them from entering the TARDIS.

"Oh, what is it now?" Braxiatel asked with mock exasperation."

"You mentioned that you were soldiers and that your planet has been destroyed. You also mentioned that you hated to see children cry," Donna began. "I may seem rude for asking...but, what happened?"

Romana smiled sadly. "There was a war. The most horrible war in the entire universe and nobody won. How about that." She looked at Donna once last time and Donna looked at them sadly and waved at them one last time before the TARDIS dematerialized and she wondered if she would ever see her two favourite aliens again and Donna hoped that one day she would.


	4. Lungbarrow and Jones: Stuck on the Moon

Martha Jones was listening to the radio as she walked down a street on her way to work in the Royal Hope hospital. She ignored everyone as they walked past her, wanting some time to herself as she knew she had a busy day ahead of her when her phone suddenly rang and she smiled brightly, realizing it was her sister. They shared a close bond despite the family situation they were having at the moment."You're up early! What's happening?" Her sister was never up early unless it was for something important and in this case, it was extremely important.

"It's a nightmare, because Dad won't listen and I'm telling you, Mum is going mental. Swear to God, Martha, this is epic. You've got to get in there and stop him." Her sister, Tish began and Martha knew that this was going to be about their dad's new girlfriend that's been driving Tish up the wall lately. Nobody really liked their Dad's new girlfriend and even though Martha tried to be nice to her, she knew that she wasn't the one for her father.

"How do I do that?" Martha asked. She had no desire to take sides in her family. She loved each and every family member equally, well, apart from her dad's new girlfriend of course. She may just dislike her just a bit.

"Tell Dad he can't bring her!"

Suddenly, her phone beeped again and she realized it was her brother Leo. "Hold on, that's Leo. I'll call you back." She put her brother on the line.

"Martha, if Mum and Dad start a kick off, tell them I don't even want a party. I didn't even ask for one. They can always give me the money instead." Leo protested.

Martha rolled her eyes at her brother's behaviour. He was such a child and he was 21 years old today! "Yeah, but why do I have to tell them? Why can't you?" Her phone rang. "Hold on, that's Mum. I'll call you back."

"I don't mind your father making a fool of himself in private, but this is Leo's 21st, everyone is going to be there and the entire family is going to look ridiculous." She could imagine her mother scowling now on the other side of the phone with irritation.

"Mum, it's a party, I can't stop Dad from bringing his girlfriend." Her phone beeped again and wasn't at all surprised to see who it was. "Hold on, that's Dad. I'll call you back."

"Martha?" Her dad called and she heard him getting into his car. "Now, tell your mother, Leo is my son and I'm paying for half that party. I'm entitled to bring who I like."

"I know, but think what it's going to look like for Mum, if you're standing there with Annalise." Martha pointed out, reminding him about her mum.

"What's wrong with Annalise?" Her Dad protested.

"Is that Martha? Say hi. Hi, Martha, hi!" Annalise called in her squeaky, annoying voice.

Martha grimaced. "Hi, Annalise." She replied in mock cheeriness. Whilst she supported her father, she didn't exactly support his love choice. Not when she was spending all his money on clothes and fake tans.

"Big kiss, lots of love, see you at the party, babe." Annalise replied and Martha sighed and closed her phone just as two people stepped in front of her and she stopped in her tracks, nearly walking straight into them.

One was a woman with pale skin and black curly hair, wearing a mauve black military coat and combat boots and the man next to her had a moustache and grey hair and was wearing a very fine black suit that would have probably costed more than a hundred pounds with a crimson tie. More than Martha could afford anyway and she knew that they must be very rich but that didn't explain why they were standing in front of her, both of them wearing a smirk on their faces.

"There we go." The woman nudged the man who reluctantly took his tie of and Martha could see the crimson tie was covered in strange, black symbols. "There's your evidence. We've proved it to you now, I hope your happy."

"Yes, that's nice." The man drawled before they both walked off and Martha looked after them, puzzled by their encounter before she continued her way to the Royal Hope Hospital where she worked. She heard thunder in the distance and was about to head in when a man dressed in leather from head to toe whilst wearing a shiny helmet roughly pushes her aside. She winced slightly.

"Hey! Watch it mate!" Martha called out after him and the figure looked at Martha and Martha couldn't help but feel as though there was something off about the figure and not because of the way it was dressed before it turned and entered the hospital. Martha hesitated as though nervous before going inside the hospital and into the locker room.

She went to her locker and put her belongings in before getting on her lab coat and touched the locker door when she suddenly got an electrical shock and she frowned. Now that wasn't supposed to happen even if there was a thunderstorm above her.

* * *

A little while later, Martha and her other medical peers and their teacher, Mr Stoker were around at an old lady's bedside and Martha held her notes, listening carefully.

The old lady looked at them, smiling sweetly. "I was all right till this morning, and then, I don't know, I woke up and I felt all dizzy again. It was worse than when I came in."

Mr Stoker took her pulse. "Pulse is slightly thready. Well, let's see what Britain's finest might suggest. Any ideas, Moregenstern?"

A young man next to Martha blinked. "Dizziness can be sign of early onset diabetes."

Mr Stoker didn't look impressed. "Hardly early onset, if you'll forgive me, Miss Finnegan. Any more ideas? Swales?"

"Um...could recommend a CT scan?" Martha's friend suggested nervously.

"And spend all our money. Jones?" Mr Stoker looked at Martha sternly.

"We could take bloods and check for Meniere's disease." Martha suggested but she knew at once that wasn't the right answer.

"Or we could simply ask the patient. What did you have for dinner last night?" Mr Stoke turned to Miss Finnegan, otherwise known as Florence.

"I had salad."

"And the night before?"

"Salad, again."

Mr Stoker turned back to his students. "And salad every night for the past week, contrary to my instructions. Salt deficiency, that's what. Simple, honest salt." He indicated for his students to follow him across the lobby. "Hippocrates himself expounded on the virtues of salt. Recommended the inhalation of steam from sea water. Though no doubt if he'd been afflicted with my students, results might have been rather more colourful." Suddenly as they were walking through a door, Martha saw two figures dressed in leather like she had seen earlier this morning walk out of the lift and she paused, watching them go before she quickly followed the other students into another ward and there on the bed was the woman she had seen earlier this morning with the man next to her bed besides her, looking extremely bored. She frowned, now this was taking the mickey.

"Now then. Mr and Mrs Lungbarrow, a very good morning to each of you. Mrs Lungbarrow, how are you today?" Mr Stoker asked as he walked to the end of her bed.

Mrs Lungbarrow, who was now dressed in a red crimson night dress that looked slightly alien, merely smiled up at them and Martha had to admit even when she was ill, the woman still looked beautiful. There was just something about her that felt like even in this room that she held the most authority, despite Mr Stoker being in charge and Martha knew that she didn't want to anger the women at all. "I'm feeling slightly better thank you. Still on the sickly side however. Perhaps one of your medical students would be able to assist me?"

Mr Lungbarrow didn't look happy and he turned sharply to face his wife but yet, Martha noticed that neither of them wore a wedding ring and she frowned. If they were married, why weren't they wearing a wedding ring? Unless they chose a different method to show their love to each other? "Are you sure that's wise my lady?" My lady? Now that was an old fashioned saying.

Martha looked at him and she couldn't help but shiver as she noticed those cold, grey-green eyes of his as though they held dark, dangerous secrets within. There was something cold and manipulative about him that she didn't quite like.

Mrs Lungbarrow smiled sweetly at her husband who merely scowled. "Oh, of course it is dear husband. I have utter faith in these medical students who are here to help us." Her husband didn't look too pleased about this and neither did it seem, Mr Stoker.

Mr Stoker cleared his throat, unfortunately for him, he had little faith in his students. "Now then, Frederica Lungbarrow was admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains and as she suggested, I want one of you to amaze me. Jones, let's see what you can do."

Martha got out her equipment and moved over to Fredericka's side. "That wasn't very clever, running around outside the pair of you, was it?"

Frederica frowned, looking confused. "I'm sorry?" She asked, slightly insulted.

"On Chancery Street this morning. The pair of you came up to me and you talked something about proving something and your husband took his tie off." She nodded over to her husband who merely studied her, no emotions could be seen on his cold facade and Martha wondered how these two could possibly get along so well when they were complete opposites.

"Now that be a first. My _husband_ never takes his tie off unless-" Mr Lungbarrow shook his head furiously and Frederica cleared her throat. "Well, anyway. What would my husband take his tie of for? And what would I be proving to _you?" _

Martha shrugged. "I don't know, you just did."

"Not us. We were here all morning, ask the nurses." Mr Lungbarrow commented dryly. "You must have mistaken us for somebody else."

"Well, that's weird cause they both looked like you. Have you got any relatives? Any brothers or sisters?"

Mr Lungbarrow closed his eyes, as though remembering something that has happened in the past and Martha wondered if she had hit a sensitive topic. "I'm sorry-"

"No, don't worry about it. No, we don't have any brothers and sisters. Not anymore at least. Both of our entire families are long since dead." Mr Lungbarrow moustache twitched slightly. "I used to have a brother, but not anymore."

"As time passes and I grow ever more infirm and weary, Miss Jones." Mr stoker narrowed his eyes at her. Not wanting her to upset his patients any longer. He didn't want his hospital to have a bad reputation for upsetting patients.

"Sorry. Right." Martha winced and she put her stethoscope to Frederica's chest and looked puzzled for a moment for she heard a heart beat that shouldn't be there. She moved to the stethoscope to Frederica's other side and she looked at Frederica, who winked at her and looked over to her husband who merely smirked, as though sharing a secret between the three of them.

"I weep for future generations. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?" Mr Stoker snapped.

Martha took out her stethoscope, obviously she couldn't tell Mr Stoker that the woman had two hearts. Who knew what would happen? Not only that, she would be made mockery of! "Um. I don't know. Stomach cramps?"

"That is a symptom, not a diagnosis. And your rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart." Mr Stoker picked up the chart, only to receive an electric shock and dropped it onto Frederica's bed.

"That happened to me this morning." Martha told him, eyeing the clip board.

"I had the same thing on the door handle." Morgenstern nodded as well.

"And me, on the lift." Swales told them, all frowning.

Mr Stoker sighed. "That's only to be expected. There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity as was first proven by-anyone?"

"Benjamin Franklin." Frederica replied suddenly, looking far too cheerful.

"Correct!"

Frederica looked over to her husband. "Your brother's dear old friend, Benjamin. We went looking for the Key to Time and accidently bumped into him along the way, _literally._ Your brother got rope burn off that kite and I got soaked to the skin. I wasn't very happy with him." Frederica scowled.

"That was my brother for you." Mr Lungbarrow looked slightly amused.

"Quite..." Mr Stoker replied, unsure what to say, looking at them as though they had gone mad and the medical students shared an amused look with each other.

"Then your brother had to go and electrocuted to prove to Benjamin when I could have shown him a more simpler method. Really, I did warn him not to touch the kite." Frederica continued. "But he went; _Oh no, Fred! This is a much more fun method! Besides, where's the fun in your method mmm? _Then he offered Benjamin a jelly baby."

Mr Stoker looked uncomfortable. "Moving on." He turned back to his students. "I think she needs a visit from a psychiatric." He whispered to his students but unbeknownst to him, Frederica's hearing was far superior to his and she merely rolled her eyes, looking amused.

* * *

Martha Jones was on her dinner break in the kitchen of the hospital and she looked out of the window, only to notice it chucking it down with rain and she began to call her sister, Tish to talk about her brother's party that they were going to have later tonight. "No, listen, I've worked out a plan. We tell Annelisa that the buffet tonight is one hundred per cent carbohydrate and she won't turn up." Martha told her sister firmly.

"I wish you'd take this seriously. That's our inheritance she's spending. On _fake tan._ Tell you what, I'm not that far away, I'll drop by for a sandwich and we can draw up a plan." Her sister replied enthusiastically.

Martha once more looked outside the window and grimaced at the sight. "In this weather? I'm not going out, it's pouring down."

"It's not raining here." Tish paused as she walked further. "That's weird. It's sitting right on top of you, I can see it, but it's dry where I am."

"Well, you just got lucky."

"No, but it's like in cartoons, you know when a man's got a cloud over his head." Her sister protested.

"But listen, I tell you what we'll do." Martha was about to begin but she saw Frederica in her crimson night dress with her husband by her side, whispering to each other quietly but they saw Martha and they stopped talking and looked at her before walking on quickly. Martha frowned before shaking her head. They were such an odd couple and even more so when Frederica had more than one heart beat! How was that possible? Unless it was just some silly trick she played on her. "We tell Dad and Annalise to get there early, for about 7:30, for Leo to do his birthday stuff. We tell Mum to come about 8:30 or nine and that gives me time to have a word with Annalise and-" Martha's friend Swales who was with her earlier gently touched her arm, looking out of the window. Martha put her hand over her mobile, looking at her. "What?"

"The rain." Swales began, looking awestruck.

"It's only rain." Martha told her, slightly annoyed at having been interrupted.

"Martha! Have you seen the rain?!" Tish cried through the phone.

"Why's everyone fussing about rain?"

Swales gasped. "It's going up."

"The rain is going up." Tish replied and Martha looked, only to realize that they were right. The rain was indeed going up. But how was that possible? Suddenly, the building began to shake furiously and Martha and her friend Swale fell to the floor with a clatter as did all the objects on the shelves in the kitchen. The building shook furiously for a moment before it all stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

Martha looked around, slightly dazed by what's happened. "What in the hell was that?" She asked, standing up.

"Are you all right?" Swales asked her.

"I think so, yeah. It felt like an earthquake or-"

Swales looked outside the window once more, only this time she looked terrified. "Martha? It's night. It was lunchtime."

Martha slowly moved towards the window. "It's not night." She replied, realizing exactly where they were. But that was _impossible. _

Swales looked around, scared. "We can't be."

"We're on the moon. We're on the bloody man." She looked outside, still unable to believe where she actually was.

Quickly, getting her Doctor mode on, Martha pushed through the running and screaming crowd in the hospital corridors and ran into a side room to look through another window. Swales following her as she looked into the window, she could see the Earth slightly above the horizon. She had to admit, it was beautiful thing to see despite the situation they were in. She quickly left the room and passed Florence Finnegan who stood in her nightie.

"Have you seen-" Florence began.

Martha shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't." She pushed her way through to a hospital ward where everyone was out of bed, scared of what has been done to them."All right, everyone back to bed. We've got an emergency but we'll sort it out." Frederica and her husband watched her and Frederica pulled the curtain around her bed suit and her husband looked on guard as he walked towards the window where Martha and Swales joined him. "It's real. It's really real. Hold on!"

"Of course it's real." Mr Lungbarrow drawled and Martha looked at him as did Swales who began to sob. "And it's beautiful." He looked at Martha. "Well? Are you going to open the window?"

Swales grabbed Martha's arm, looking at her friend with frightened eyes. "Don't! He wants to kill us! We'll lose all the air!"

Martha frowned. "But they're not exactly air tight. If the air was going to get sucked out it would have happened straight away, but it didn't. So how come?"

"I have to say that is a very good observation." Frederica stated as she puled the bed-curtain aside and Martha noticed she was wearing the exactly same outfit she was wearing this morning and moved over to join them. "What is your full name?"

"Martha. Martha Jones." Martha replied, blinking in surprise.

"You want to know why we are still breathing?" Frederica smirked, shoving her hands into her coat pockets. Martha nodded quickly, wanting to know how. "Take us to the nearest balcony on this floor."

"Okay."

Mr Lungbarrow looked at her. "You might die."

Martha noticed that he didn't say _we, _but didn't press on the matter. "We might not." She pointed out.

The Lungbarrow's looked at each other as though sharing a mental conversation between them before looking back at Martha. "We'll show you but not her." Frederica pointed at Swales who was still sobbing. "We can't deal with crying people and she will end up slowing us down. Lead us the way then, _Martha Jones."_

Martha led the couple through the patient's lounge and pushed open the doors onto the balcony and walked towards the edge. "We've got air! How does that work?" Martha breathed, relieved by the idea of the fact they have air.

"Force-field." Frederica replied, almost way to casually for Martha's liking. "That's what keeping us alive. But for how long is what I want to know."

"What, extraterrestrial stuff?" Martha asked and the couple both nodded. "Well, it's gotta be extraterrestrial hasn't it? I don't know, maybe a few years ago that would have sounded mad, but these days? That spaceship flying into Big Ben, Christmas, those Cybermen things." Martha paused. "I had a cousin. Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf. She never came home."

Mr Lungbarrow froze and looked away from Martha slightly as though he had done something terrible. "I'm sorry." He replied and Frederica squeezed her husband's hand.

Martha frowned, before looking back at the moon. "Yeah. But all the same, we could die any minute but it's beautiful. Just like you said."

"We were there," Frederica told Martha, leaning against the balcony next to Martha. "Both us of us at the battle of Canary Wharf. We were the ones that put a stop to it."

Martha looked at them and she could tell that Frederica was telling the truth. She nodded, looking grateful. "I promise you, Mr and Mrs Lungbarrow, we will find a way out. If we can travel to the moon, then we can travel back. There's got to be a way." Martha told them, determined. There just had to be a way to go back home.

"Ah now," Mr Lungbarrow commented. "We're not actually married and those are not actually are real names."

Martha frowned. "I thought it was suspicious without the wedding rings," She told them, looking at their hands."Then who are you both?"

"I'm Romanadvoratrelundar. Pleasure to meet you." Romana replied, offering Martha her hand and Martha shook it before blinking, processing her name.

"Romana-what? Can I just call you Romana?" Martha asked weakly.

Romana laughed. "Of course you can. Or you can always call me Fred. I haven't been called that in a while." Martha looked unsure but looked at the man standing next to them.

"And I'm Irving Braxiatel," He gave her a curt nod. "But please, call me Braxiatel."

"So do you know whose behind all this?" Martha asked curiously.

"There is only one race who would use this method of transportation," Romana replied before she looked up. "And here they come!" They all looked up to see alien spaceship arriving on the moon before they landed and aliens in armour began to march out of them.

"What are they?" Martha asked, too shocked and scared to do anything.

"The Judoon."

* * *

A/N: Little surprise for you! Frederica means 'peaceful ruler' in German and the Doctor did call Romana 'Fred' once long ago, so I thought it was perfect for her! (:


	5. Lungbarrow and Jones: The New Companion

The three of them made there way to the hospital reception, watching as the Judoon marched in. They were hiding behind some potted plants on the mezzanine level and saw the Judoon enter the hospital, watching the people screaming and running, some cowering and trying to find hiding places when the chief Judoon removed his helmet and people gasped in horror whilst Romana and Braxiatel watched on calmly. "Bo sco fo do no kro blo co sho ro!"

Morgenstern, Martha's other friend stepped forward, looking nervous. "We are citizens of planet Earth. We welcome you in peace." The chief Judoon pushed him up against the wall harshly and shone a blue light in his face. Morgenstern squirmed underneath his grip. "Please don't hurt me, I was just trying to help, don't hurt me, please don't hurt me."

The Judoon played his words back on his portable machine. "Language assimilated. Designation Earth, English. You will be catalogued." He shone another blue light in Morgenstern's face before marking a cross on the back of his hand. "Category; human. Catalogue all suspects." They start shining the blue light on people, checking their species before marking the right hand of each human with a cross, saying 'human' as they do.

"So what are the Judoon?" Martha asked Romana and Braxiatel, watching the scene before them.

"Galactic police." Braxiatel replied, not taking his eyes away from the scene.

Romana rolled her eyes. "More like interplanetary thugs is what I would call them." She never did like the Judoon methods and the way they dealt with people. She knew they meant well, but they could always try and do their tactics in a more civillised manner.

"And they brought us to the moon?"

"Neutral territory. According to the galactic law, they have no jurisdiction over Earth so they've isolated us here. They're looking for an alien criminal that's hidden in this hospital." Romana told Martha. "Remember that rain and thunderstorm? And the lightening? That was how they transported us. They used a H2O scoop."

Martha frowned, thinking this over. "So you're saying there's an alien criminal hiding in this hospital? Don't be ridiculous." Romana and Braxiatel gave her both a serious look and she sighed, knowing that they were telling the truth. "Okay, alien criminal on the lose and we're trapped on the bloody moon. But tell me this, what about the 'galactic law'? How do you know so much about them?"

"Because we're aliens ourselves and no, we are not the criminal they are looking for." Braxiatel replied, seeing the look on Martha's face. "We're very much innocent."

"Oh, you're kidding me." Martha groaned. More aliens! Just what she wanted. Romana merely raised a perfectly sculptured eyebrow. "Okay, you're not kidding me."

"We need to leave, the Judoon are making their way up." Braxiatel commented and he helped Romana and Martha to their feet before heading into a hospital corridor at a run, trying to get away from them before Romana spotted an empty office.

"In here!" She went in and straight to a broken computer and Braxiatel closed the door behind them.

Martha shook her head. "They've reached the third floor. What's that thing?" She asked as Romana pointed her sonic screwdriver at the computer.

"Sonic screwdriver."

"Well, if you're not going to answer me properly!" Martha replied, not looking amused and thinking that Romana was insulting her intelligence.

"It really is a sonic screwdriver." Braxiatel replied, getting his own sonic screwdriver. Well, in his case, a sonic pen. "I have a sonic pen. Much more fashionable."

"Oh yeah, just show off why don't you." Romana grumbled. "I used to have a laser spanner but it got stolen by Emily Pankhurst. Now she was a cheeky women and could be very rude at times." She ran a hand through her messy black hair in irritation. "The Judoon locked down the computers. Damn it."

"But what are they looking for?" Martha asked.

"We told you, an alien criminal. Were you not paying attention?" Braxiatel scolded her.

Martha shook her head. "Like the pair of you, apparently."

"Like us, but not us."

"Haven't they got a photo?" Martha asked.

"It could be a shape-shifter," Romana replied. "Or something that could change it's blood formula."

"Whatever it is, can't either of you just leave the Judoon to find it?"

"We would love to leave the Judoon to do their business but we really can't. If the Judoon declare the hospital guilty of harbouring a fugitive, they'll sentence all of you to execution."

"Oh my god." Martha looked shocked. They would do that? Even when hundreds of innocents had nothing to do with the alien criminal?

Romana looked up at her, giving up on the computer. "Martha, have you noticed anything strange in the past week recently? Like any patient admitted in the hospital with unusual symptoms?"

Martha frowned. "Just keep working. I'll go ask Mr. Stoker, he might know." She left the Time-Lord's to their work and ran down the hallway to Mr. Stoker's office before knocking on his door and without waiting for an answer, she walked in. "Mr Stoker!" She called before she stopped in her tracks to see his feet sticking out around his desk and the two men dressed in leather standing next to him and Martha's eyes widened as she saw Florence Finnegan arise, a straw in her hand and without another word, Martha turned back the way she came, running for her life.

Romana and Braxiatel greeted her in the hall-way, having no luck with the computer at all. "Any luck?" Romana asked hopefully.

"I found her." Was all Martha could say, slightly shocked by what had happened.

"You found her all ready?" Romana asked, looking impressed before she spotted one of the men in leather running at them. "Run!" Romana grabbed Braxiatel's and Martha's hands and together they ran down a stairwell, followed by their chaser. They suddenly meet the Judoon who were making their way up and quickly dodged out a doorway on the fourth floor. They ran quickly, their chaser still hot on their tails before they skidded around a few corners and into a radiology room.

Braxiatel slammed the door shut and locked it in the face of their chaser. Romana went to the equipment in the middle of the room, sonicing it. "Martha, when I say _now, _press the button." She demanded.

Martha blinked. "I don't know which one."

"Find out!" Romana snapped and Braxiatel moved over to help Romana as she used her sonic screwdriver on some of the machinery. Martha went to the operator's manual when their chaser broke down the door. "Now!" Martha quickly slammed a big red button near by.

Romana zapped their chaser with radiation and they could see it's skeleton for a brief moment before it fell to the floor, dead.

Martha peered over the controls."What did you do?"

"We increased the radiation by five thousand per cent. Killed him dead." Braxiatel replied, crouching down next to it and eyeing him.

"Isn't that likely to kill either of you?" Martha frowned.

Romana shook her head. "It's only radiation. I used to play with roentgen bricks when I was a Time-Tot in the nursery back at home all the time. Don't worry, it's completely safe for you to come out." She told Martha sincerely, smiling and Martha came out of the room and walked next to them.

"You're completely mad," Martha told her, unable to believe that the women would play with such dangerous radiation before looking down at the victim on the floor. "So what is that thing? And where's it from? The planet Zovirax?"

"They're called Slabs." Braxiatel replied. "They're very basic slave drones and Slabs are made from solid leather, all the way through." He looked at Martha. "Who were they working for?"

"It came with that women, Miss Finnegan. It was working for her. Just like a servant." Martha replied. If anybody told her that she would be working with two aliens who were hunting a little old lady who was disguised as a criminal alien, she would have thought them to be completely bonkers but after the day she was having, Martha just went along with everything they said.

Romana took out the remains of her sonic screwdriver out of the x-ray machines, looking very disappointed. "My sonic screwdriver." Romana gaped, looking slightly upset. She hadn't had this one long! She had given her previous sonic screwdriver to Mickey, then she made another one and now this!

"She was one of the patients but she had a straw like some kind of vampire." Martha began but Romana was too busy staring at her broken sonic screwdriver to pay any attention to. "Romana!"

Romana blinked before looking at Martha. "Sorry, but my sonic screwdriver's broken. I'm very fond of my sonic screwdriver." She tossed her sonic screwdriver away. "As you were saying." She motioned Martha to continue.

Martha shook her head, slightly amused. "Anyway, Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mr. Stoker's blood."

Braxiatel frowned. "Little old lady who ate too much salad?" He suggested and Martha nodded. "I bumped into her this morning, I thought there was something odd about her and not because she was too cheery either. She's an internal shape-changer and she drunk the blood of Mr. Stoker because she was assimilating it."

"Oh, she's clever." Romana nodded. "But not clever enough for us. Maybe for the Judoon-" She paused in her tracks. "If Miss _Finnegan _can assimilate Mr Stoker's blood and mimic the morphology, she will be able to register as human. We need to find her, _now!" _She ran out of the room and Martha and Braxiatel shared a look with each other before running out after her.

* * *

They found themselves in the hall way, hiding behind a water cooler as they watched a Slab walk further away from them. "The trouble with Slabs is that they travel in pairs." Braxiatel whispered, eyeing it.

"What, like you two?" Martha asked, looking between Romana and Braxiatel. "Are you too...you know, together? As in, together together?"

"What, us?" Romana asked, sounding slightly surprised. "Is now really the time? Humans. We're stuck on the moon, slowly running out of air whilst the Judoon are looking for a bloodsucking criminal and you're asking us personal questions? That's so_ human._"

Martha looked amused. "I like that. _Humans. _I'm still not convinced either of you are aliens."

"We'll prove it to you," Romana confirmed her and Martha remembered what she said about proving something this morning and blinked before Romana and Braxiatel stepped out from behind the water cooler and came face to face with the Judoons who shone blue lights on Romana's and Braxiatel's faces.

"Non-humans."

"Oh my god, you really are!" Martha asked, her eyes widening and was about to prepare herself to run when she noticed neither Time-Lord's running and they merely stood, glaring at the Judoon as though they held the most authoirty in the room.

Romana merely stood her ground before she retorted something in the Judoon language, making the Judoon pause. The Judoon retorted something back but Romana stood in firm, looking tall and proud and looking down on the Judoon and the Judoon reluctantly put away his gun, indicating his partners to do the same. "Mo Ho." Romana said finally.

"What happening?" Martha asked Braxiatel, unsure what happened.

"Romana negotiated with the Judoon," Braxiatel replied. "Indicating that we are on their side and are too looking for the criminal. Nothing gets past Romanadvoratrelundar." Romana moved forwards to the Judoon, looking deep into their eyes as though hypnotising them. "Now she's sending them telepathic messages, explaining to them what's happened." Braxiatel told her before Martha could ask and he smirked. "Yes, we're telepathic."

Romana turned to Martha, looking serious."Martha, can you lead us to Mr. Stoker's office?"

Martha blinked before nodding. "Of course."

Romana turned back to the Judoon. "You will follow us." She walked forwards, Martha next to her. Romana looked at her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm running on adrenaline." Martha replied honestly. "But it doesn't look like there's enough oxygen for all these people." She indicated to all the collapsed people in the hallway, looking drained.

"Welcome to our world." Braxiatel commented dryly as they made their way to Mr Stoker office, the Judoon behind them.

Martha quickly glanced at the Judoon before looking back, noticing their glare. "What about the Judoon?" She whispered.

"They have bigger lungs." Braxiatel shrugged. "Where's Mr Stoker's office from here?"

"It's this way." Martha replied and they entered his office, only to notice that that Florence was gone.

"She is gone!" The Judoon looked accusingly at Romana.

Romana looked at the Judoon firmly. "Of course she's gone. If you were a criminal and were being hunted by the police, you wouldn't stay next to your victim all night would you?" She snapped. "She's a plasmavore and where would a plasmavore would go in a human hospital?"

"Where?" The Judoon asked, unsure.

"The MRI." Romana smirked. "She maybe clever, but not clever enough. Whilst at first you may have scanned her, she appeared as human because she drained Mr stoker's blood," She pointed at the body of Mr Stoker where Martha closed his eyes, feeling the need to respect him as after all, he was her teacher. "So when you scanned her, she appeared human. But I promise you, she's not. Come on!" She went out of the room, the Judoon following her.

"Find Florence. Execute her." The Judoon commented to each other as they followed Romana. They stopped outside the room where Romana paused. "Well?" The Judoon snapped.

"They have a slab in there. That should prove to you that she's not human." Romana replied, peering into the room before grinning. "Well, nothing like a good criminal chase. Let's get on with it." Romana barged into the room with high authority where they saw Florence working on the machine in the MRI room, the slab beside the door but the Judoon merely raised their weapons and executed the Slab on the spot and Florence turned around, spotting them. "Give it in, _plasmavore." _Romana sneered at the word. "We charge you with the crime of murdering the Princess of Patrival Regency Nine under the Shadow Proclamation."

Florence looked at Romana angrily. "Plasmavore and proud! She deserved it! Those pink cheeks and those blond curls and that simpering voice. She was _begging _for the bite of a plasmavore!"

"Do you confess?" The Chief Judoon asked.

"Confess? I'm proud of it! Enjoy your victory, Judoon and you, _Lungbarrow! _Because you are all going to burn with me. Burn in hell!" Florence snarled and raised her fists but it was too late, the Judoon executed her. Florence screamed as they disintegrated her and Martha looked away quickly.

"Burn with me..." Romana whispered before running to the MRI scanner and groaned. "Oh no."

"What? What is it?" Martha asked hurriedly.

"Lethal acceleration of monomagnetic pulse," Romana replied. "She was going to use this to burn the Earth before escaping in the Judoon's spaceships."

Martha looked between the Judoon and Romana and Braxiatel. "Are any of you going to stop it?"

"Our jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate." The Chief Judoon announced.

Suddenly, Romana barked out something in the language of the Judoon, making the Judoon troop pause. The Judoon retorted something back just as angrily, but with the single look that Romana gave them, it looked like Romana was winning and the Chief Judoon marched over to help Romana fix the MRI scanner, looking displeased.

Martha looked impressed. "I take it Romana has ordered them to help her?"

Braxiatel chuckled. "Oh yes. She's clever. Sometimes I wonder if she's too clever for her own gain."

They stood there, watching them converse before Romana spoke more softly this time to the Judoon and the Chief Judoon gave a salute of some sorts before walking out of the hospital.

"She said Thank you to the Judoon," Braxiatel told Martha. "And know they are returning to their ships."

Martha collapsed, feeling weak in the knees as the air began to leave her body. Braxiatel held her in his arms. "Don't let them leave us." Martha whispered, her breathing going slower and slower before her eyes closed.

Braxiatel and Romana shared a look before Braxiatel hoisted Martha into his arms and carried her to a nearby window where he and Romana saw many patients and Doctor's who were extremely weak and some even unconscious due to oxygen starvation. The Time-Lord's with Martha in their arms looked out of the window, watching the Judoon's disappear.

"Don't you dare break my promise Judoon," Romana spoke. Somehow, being twenty years as prisoner of the Daleks had it's benefits. One of the methods of torture they used on her was taking away air from her and seeing how long she could last and surprisingly, very long. But it was something that Romana did not want to look back on. Suddenly, just as the last of the Judoon spaceship left, it began to rain and Romana looked at Martha's unconscious body in Braxiatel's arms. "It's raining, Martha. It's raining on the moon."

"Now that is something you don't get to see everyday." Braxiatel smirked before the whole building disappeared in a flash of white light, taking everyone with them back to Earth.

* * *

The hospital reappeared where it originally belonged to and Martha was sat in one of the emergency care commences with a blanket over her shoulder and looked thoughtful, thinking over to what had happened today.

"Martha!" Tish cried and Martha looked up to see her sister running up to her before giving her a hug. "Oh, God! I thought you were dead! What happened? It was so weird, because the police wouldn't say, they didn't have a clue. And I tried phoning, but I couldn't get through. Mum's on her way, but she couldn't get through, they've closed off all the roads." She blocked out Tish, too tired to listen and turned her head slightly to see an old police box standing not to far away from her that should have belonged in a muesuem before seeing Romana and Braxiatel, walking arm in arm towards it. Romana smiled brightly at her and waved whilst Braxiatel merely gave her a curt nod and Martha smiled back at her two aliens and a truck went by and when it was gone, Romana, Braxiatel and the old police box had disappeared all together, making Martha frown. Where had they disappeared too?

* * *

It was a little while later, after Tish walked her home and Martha was applying her mascara on for her brother's birthday party, listening to the radio as she applied her make-up.

"Eyewitness reports from the Royal Hope Hospital continue to pour in, and it all seems to be remarkably consistent. This from medical student Oliver Morgenstern."

"I was there. I saw it happen. And I feel uniquely privileged. I looked out at the surface of the moon. I saw the Earth, suspended in space and it all just proves Mr Saxon right. We're not alone in the universe. There's life out there; wild and extraordinary life." Martha smiled at the comment her fellow colleague made, knowing it was all so true.

* * *

Annalise stormed outside the pub, away from Leo's party and looked hurt and angry. "I am not prepared to be insulted!" She cried.

Clive, Martha's dad hurried out after her. "She didn't mean it, sweetheart. She just said you look healthy." He protested.

Martha's mother scoffed. "No, I did not. I said orange."

Annalise turned around to face them, glaring at Francine. "Clive, that woman is disrespecting me. She's never liked me."

"Oh, I can't think why, after you stole my husband."Francine replied dryly. Why should the woman expect her to like her when she literally stole the man she loves?

"I was seduced. I'm entirely innocent! Tell her, Clive!"

"And then she has a go at Martha, practically accused her of making the whole thing up!" Francine pointed at Martha, defending her daughter.

Martha sighed, not wanting to me dragged in. "Mum, I don't mind. Just leave it."

Annalise rolled her eyes. "Oh, 'I've been to the moon!'. As if. They were drugged. It said so on the news."

"Since when did you watch the news?" Francine scoffed. "You can't handle _Quiz Mania!"_

Tish looked at Martha. "Annalise started it. She did. I heard her." She shook her head, onlooking the fight.

Leo joined them and looked pointedly at his sister. "Tish, don't make it worse." He warned.

Tish scoffed. "You're talking, Leo. What did she buy you, soap? A seventy-five pence soap?"

Annalise snarled. "Oh, I'm never talking to your family again!" She stormed off and the whole family began to talk over each other.

Francine shook her head, looking angry. "Oh stay! Have a night out!"

Clive stomped his foot, looking after Annalise. "Don't you dare. I'm putting my foot down. This is me, putting my foot down." He shouted but Annalise didn't come back and without another glance at his family, he chased after her.

"Dad!" Leo cried, watching him go before he too, went after him.

"Make a fool of yourself! God knows, you've been doing it for the last twenty-five years! Why stop now?" Francine screamed after her ex-husband and she stormed off.

"Mum, don't! I asked the DJ and he's playing that song later!" Tish cried desperately before she went after her mum.

Martha stayed where she was, looking slightly distressed. After the day she was having, who could blame her? She shook her head and was about to leave when she saw Romana standing on the corner, looking at her and gave her a _'follow me' _look before disappearing around the corner. She shook her head and followed her around the building to find her and Braxiatel standing next to the police box they had seen earlier. Braxiatel looking at the _vote Saxon _posters carefully with a slight frown on his face.

Martha looked at them. "I went to the moon today."

"Looks like you could do with another trip up there," Romana commented. "Much more peaceful up there than it is down here."

"You never even told me who either of you are," Martha began. "You mentioned being a Time-Tot, but what does that mean? And now that's not something every day I get to ask that."

"Time-Lord," Braxiatel replied smoothly before indicating towards Romana. "Time-Lady if you are looking for gender pro-nouns."

"Right! Not pompous at all then." Martha grinned.

"Since you helped us catch the alien criminal, Romana and I were wondering if you want to travel with us?" Braxiatel asked. "Not only that, Romana built herself a new sonic screwdriver that she wants to show off."

"Hey!" Romana cried but in a teasing manner. "All for the good of the Human Race and you know it."

Martha chuckled. "What, another trip into space?"

"And Time." Braxiatel smirked.

"Get out of here."

"We can. Why do you think we are called Time-Lord and Time-Lady?" Braxiatel raised an eyebrow.

"Come on now, that's going too far." Martha scoffed, still not believing.

"Fine, we'll prove it to you." Both he and Romana stepped into the TARDIS and the TARDIS dematerialised and Martha watched, not taking her eyes off it. As soon as the TARDIS disappeared, she waved her hand in the spot where it was and walked away, knowing they were gone forever. Suddenly, she heard their spaceship come back again and saw the Police box standing exactly where it was.

Romana and Braxiatel stepped back outside and Braxiatel held out his tie to show her."There you go. Now that makes sense to what you were talking about this morning."

Martha gaped at them. "I know but...that was this morning! But, did you...oh my god! Both of you can travel in time!" Romana helped Braxiatel put on his tie again. "But hold on, if you could see me this morning, why didn't you tell me not to go into work?"

"Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden." Romana replied and it sounded as though she knew the answer by hear. "Unless you are using it for cheap tricks."

"And that's your spaceship?" Martha asked, indicating towards the TARDIS.

"It's called the TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimension in Space. And it's _ours!" _Romana grinned, saying the last bit possessively.

Martha touched the TARDIS once more. "Your spaceship's made out of wood. There's not much room. We'd be a bit intimate!"

Romana laughed. "Why don't you have a look for yourself?" She pushed open the door and Martha looked at her, hesitating before she went in and Romana and Braxiatel stepped in after her. Martha gaped as she saw that the TARDIS was bigger on the inside and she glanced around, before running back out again.

"Oh, no, no!" She could hear the Time-Lord's laughing to each other on the inside and she went around the whole box. "But it's just a box. But it's huge! How does it do that? It's _wood._" She knocked on it before going back inside. "It's like a box with that room just rammed in! It's bigger on the inside!"

Braxiatel smirked before looking at Romana. "Have you noticed Romana? The TARDIS is bigger on the inside."

Romana put a hand over her hearts and pretended to look surprised. "Is it really? I never knew."

Martha shook her head, still gaping at the size of the TARDIS. "But is there a crew? Like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?"

"Originally a TARDIS is meant to be flown by six people," Romana replied, heading towards the controls. "But it's just myself and Braxiatel now. It's better that way."

Martha looked at her. "What? Driving her all by yourselfs?"

"We can easily manage," Braxiatel replied, going onto Martha's other side. "My brother used to drive this TARDIS by himself. Never got anywhere on time though."

"Where is he now?" Martha asked before her eyes widened as she realized what Braxiatel had said about his brother this morning and she winced, remembering and looked away. "I'm sorry. It's just been a hell of a day today."

"I understand." He merely nodded, fiddling with the controls.

"So, are you interested in travelling with us? You did help us save the whole hospital." Romana looked slightly hopeful. This human looked more intelligent and caring and Romana knew that Donna was right. They did need someone wherever they wanted to believe it or not.

"Oh, go on then." Martha beamed, not believing her luck.

"Well then, let's fire up the helmic regulator!" Romana beamed back and the TARDIS began to materialise and Martha was expecting a bumpy take off, like she had seen in those science fiction movies with the alien ship to be all bumpy and rocky, but nothing came and it was a smooth take off and Martha wouldn't have even known the TARDIS was in flight if it wasn't for the centre control. "Welcome abroad, Miss Jones!" Romana and Braxiatel held out their hands, expecting her to shake them.

Martha shook them, still beaming. "It's my pleasure, Mr and Mrs Lungbarrow!"


	6. The Shakespeare Code: Old Friends

Romana was explaining all the rules and regulations as Braxiatel drove the TARDIS steadily through the vortex. Martha listened carefully with a serious look upon her face, wanting to go by the rules and not wanting to break any. Romana and Braxiatel were offering her a trip of a life-time! She didn't want to do anything stupid whilst they were offering her that trip.

"I understand," Martha looked at Romana seriously before nodding as she finished. "I promise not to break _any _of those rules."

"I hope so." Romana sniffed. "Because the last companion we had broke one of the most important rules that I gave her but she's not our companion any longer." She shook her head.

Martha frowned. "Why, what happened?"

"It doesn't matter, it was a long time ago now." Romana waved her off. "Centuries ago."

Martha looked at her, wanting to know more about what happened to their previous companion but decided not to ask, knowing it was a sensitive topic and gazed at the rotor of the TARDIS that was gently going up and down. "I was expecting a rougher take off," She admitted as she stroked the console. "Like in those science fiction movies but I'm impressed. May I ask, how do you travel in time? What makes it go?"

"There's a law about that," Braxiatel replied, flickering some switches and Romana moved over to help him. "Our species are the only ones to know. Besides, you don't want to know everything like we do Martha, it'll take all the fun out in having you as a companion."

Martha rolled her eyes, grinning. "What, did you have to pass a test or something?"

"For both yes." Romana replied, just as she landed the TARDIS and Martha was surprised at the fact there was no bumpy landing involved which she was grateful for. "And I passed both of the tests with high scores." She looked smugged.

"I past as well," Braxiatel nodded. "But there is no need to brag about it."

"Oh, it's all right for you to show off but not me?" Romana raised an eyebrow at him. "Just like your brother!"

Braxiatel looked slightly sheepish. "Well when you put it that way my lady..."

"Face it, you're both show-offs." Martha grinned before looking towards the TARDIS door. "So, come on then. Where are we?"

"Have a look for yourself," Romana opened the TARDIS doors. "After you."

Martha walked outside and she realized they were on a crowded street, the night sky looming over ahead of them and Martha laughed, delighted. "Oh, you are kidding me. You are _so _kidding me. Oh, my God! We did it. We travelled in time. Where are we? No, sorry. I gotta get used to this whole new language. When are we?"

Before either Time-Lord's could answer, Braxiatel quickly looked up and pulled both ladies back as from the house they were standing next to on the first floor, a man dumped the contents of a bucket. "Mind the loo!" The man warned and the contents splashed in front of them and Romana grimaced with disgust.

"Somewhere before the invention of the toilet. Sorry about that." Braxiatel replied and he carefully stepped around the waste.

Martha shrugged, not bothered. "I've seen worse. I've worked the late night shift at A&E." She told them as the two Time-Lord's walked ahead of her. "But are we safe? I mean, can we move around and stuff?"

"Of course we can. Why are you asking?"

"It's like in the films. You step on a butterfly; you can change the future of the human race." Martha pointed out, thinking back on the film the Butterfly effect.

Romana laughed. "You watch way too many films Martha. They're just films and they always get Time-Travel completely wrong. Besides, what have butterflies ever done to you? They are beautiful creatures." They continued to walk through the crowd.

"What if, I dunno, what if I kill my grandfather?" Martha suggested.

Braxiatel looked at her. "Are you thinking of killing him?"

"No."

"There's your answer then."

Martha stopped in her tracks, noticing that she was the only coloured person in the streets and she suddenly felt a bit frightened. "Oh, but hold on. Am I all right? I'm not gonna get carted off as a slave am I?" She wrapped her arms around herself protectively. She didn't want to be a slave, not for anyone.

"Why would you think such a horrible thing?" Romana frowned.

"Not exactly white, in case you haven't noticed." Martha pointed at herself.

Romana shrugged. "We're not even human. Besides, if anyone does they have me to deal and Braxiatel." Braxiatel nodded sternly. "And you'll be surprised too, Elizabethan England is not so different from the Time you belong in. Over there is a man recycling." She pointed to a man who was shovelling manure."Water cooler moment." Two men were conversing at a water barrel and they walked past a man who was preaching about the end of the world.

"...And the world will be consumed by flame!" The preacher shouted, looking at Braxiatel and Braxiatel rolled his eyes, unamused.

"But that's not the reason why I have took you both here," Braxiatel told them. "The reason why I have took you here is to see an old friend of mine."

"Who?" Martha asked.

"William Shakespeare." Braxiatel replied and Martha gaped at him. "Oh yes, you could say I have friends in many high places." They turned around the corner to see the Globe Theatre standing in front of them. "The Globe theatre! However, to be very precise, it's actually a tetradecagon since it has 14 sides."

"What, are you saying your friends with William Shakespeare and that the man himself is in the Globe theatre?" Martha couldn't help but feel giddy inside. She had always admired William Shakespeare. Every since she was in High-school, she had always admired him and the sonnet about the Dark Lady had always been her favourite.

Braxiatel held out both of his arms. "My ladies, will you care to accompany me to the theatre?"

"Of course my dear Braxiatel." Romana replied, smiling widely as she took his arm.

Martha took his other arm. "Yes, Mr Lungbarrow. Yes, I will!"

Romana looked over at Martha. "When you get home, you can tell everyone you've seen Shakespeare."

"Then I could get sectioned!" Martha replied and the three of them laughed good heartedly.

* * *

A little while later, Romana, Braxiatel and Romana were sitting up in the high seats of the theatre, overlooking the crowd and the stage itself and Martha was clapping furiously, immensely enjoying herself. "That's amazing! Just amazing!" She breathed excitedly. "It's worth it putting up with the smell. And those are men dressed as women, yeah?"

"Somethings never change." Braxiatel smirked.

Martha peered over the edge of the bannister. "So glad you managed to get us in the high seats. But where's your friend himself? Shakespeare? I wanna see Shakespeare." She threw her fist in the air. "Author! Author!" She cried. Braxiatel and Romana looked at her, amused. "Do people shout that? Do they shout _author?" _

Suddenly, a man in the crowd below them heard Martha and he too, raised his fists in the air and began to shout and it soon began to spread, people wanting to see the man himself appear on stage.

"It looks like they do now." Braxiatel replied just as Shakespeare came out and he took an exaggerated bow and began to blow kisses to the crowd. The audience below them went wild and cheered even louder.

"He's a bit different from his portraits." Martha commented as she observed him.

"He's a genius," Braxiatel replied, clasping his hands in his lap. "One of the most brilliant human minds in history."

"Is there a particular reason why you want to see your friend again?" Romana asked. "Is it to do with your Collection?"

Braxiatel was about to reply when Shakespeare shouted out amongst the crowd. "Shut your big fat mouths!" Romana didn't look impressed as the crowd laughed at him.

Martha looked over at Romana. "Well, you know what they say. You should never meet your heroes."

"You have excellent taste! I'll give you that." He pointed to a man in the audience. "Oh, that's a wig!" He walked up towards the edge of the stage. "I know what you're all saying. _Loves Labours Lost, _that's a funny ending isn't it? It just stops! Will the boy get the girl? Well, don't get your hose in a tangle, you'll find out soon. Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don't rush a genius." He bowed before he suddenly straightened up, far too quickly and stiffly for Romana and Braxiatel's liking.

"When?" Shakespeare asked. "Tomorrow night!" The audience cheered loudly. "The premiere of my brand new play. A sequel, no less and I call it _'Loves Labours Won!" _Once again, the audience began to scream and shout with delight.

The three of them left the theatre with the rest of the crowd and Martha frowned. "I'm not an expert, but I've never heard of _Loves Labours Won." _

Romana nodded. "You're absolutely right. It's a lost play and only exists in rumours," She glanced at Braxiatel, wondering if he had it back in his collection but he shook his head. "It's mentioned in lists of his plays but never showed up. I have a feeling someone or something is messing with time, _making _him write it."

"So how come it disappeared in the first place?" Martha asked. Martha wanted to suggest about taping the play itself but given the strict rules that Romana had given them earlier, she knew it would be against breaking the laws of time.

"That's what I'm here to find out." Braxiatel smirked. "That, and to see William again."

"When was the last time you visited him?" Romana asked him. She knew Braxiatel often famous historical people to collect their fine works.

"When I still had my Collection," He replied. "If I remember correctly, he should be still staying in the Elephant Inn." He pointed to the Elephant Inn which loomed ahead of them and it looked shabby and dirty.

They entered the tiny house and Braxiatel led them the way, hearing Shakespeare talking on the other side of the door. "I've just got the final scene to go. You'll get it by morning." He spoke, drinking his beer.

Braxiatel knocked on the open door. "William Shakespeare, I don't suppose you'll recognize me yet. I have changed my face." He strolled in and William Shakespeare frowned.

"Do I know you?" William Shakespeare asked, looking up at Braxiatel.

"I've regenerated since the last time we met. Last time I met you, I gave you the idea to write Coriolanus." He looked into Shakespeare's eyes for a moment and Shakespeare looked at him as though hypnotized before his eyes widened in realization. Romana narrowed her eyes at Braxiatel. What did Braxiatel think he was doing?

Shakespeare's eyes brightened. "Irving Braxiatel? Jolly, is it really you? How have you changed your face?"

Braxiatel merely smirked before shaking the man's hand. "Now that is a secret I can't give you I'm afraid."

"Oh now, really?" Shakespeare looked out put. "Still have your Collection growing?"

"Collection? What's Collection?" Martha asked, frowning as she appeared behind Braxiatel.

Shakespeare looked at Martha, entranced. "Hey, nonny, nonny. Sit right down here next to me." He pulled out a chair before turning to his two friends. "You two get sewing on them costumes. Off you go." His two friends quickly dashed off and Martha sat down next to him, Romana sitting down on Martha's other side. "Sweet lady. Such such unusual clothes. So...fitted."

Martha shared a quick look with Romana, who couldn't help but laugh and Martha blushed. "Um...verily, forsooth, egads."

Romana shook her head. "No, don't do that."

Braxiatel cleared his throat. "May I introduce you to my friends? This is Lady Romanadvoratrelundar and Miss Martha Jones."

"My, what a mouthful my lady." Shakespeare smiled slightly at Romana but his main attention was on Martha. He has never seen such beauty! "I have never heard of such an usual name. But please, Miss Martha, where are you from? Are you a Ethiop girl? A swarth? A Queen of Afric-"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this." Martha shook her head.

"Believe it because it's happening." Romana smiled and just then, a man in rich clothes barged into the room, looking angry.

"Excuse me!" He snapped, making them all look up. "Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behaviour. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script, Mr Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed."

"Tomorrow morning, first thing, I'll send it round." Shakespeare replied, not looking happy.

The man looked angry. "I don't work to your schedule, you work on mine. The script, now!"

"I need to finish the ending!" Shakespeare retorted.

"Then tomorrow's performance is cancelled!"

"It's all go, 'round here, isn't me?" Martha asked, trying to break the tension and Shakespeare shared a grin with her.

"I'm returning to my office for a banning order. If it's the last thing I do, _Loves Labours Won, _will never be played." He cast them all a stern look before marching out of the room.

Shakespeare shook his head. "I'm sorry you had to see him, Lynley. He's not the best of men to get along with."

"Do not fret my old friend." Braxiatel replied smoothly. "We've dealt with worse people in the past."

Martha glanced at them. "Well then, mystery solved. That's _Love's Labour's Won, _over and done with. Thought it might be something, you know...more mysterious." Suddenly, they heard someone scream from outside and they all rushed to see Lynley spitting up water. Martha's eyes widened. "It's Lynley!"

"It's as if he's drowning!" Romana gasped before rushing over to his side. "All the water inside his body, drowning him on land!"

"Leave it to me, I'm a Doctor!" Martha began, rushing to Lynley's side just as he collapsed and Braxiatel raised an eyebrow and Martha looked sheepish. "Well, near enough." Braxiatel looked around on the street, searching for any clues as to what might have caused this as Martha listened for a heartbeat and for any signs of breathing. "Gotta get the heart going. Mr Lynley, c'mon, can you hear me? You're going to be all right." She was about to do mouth-to-mouth respiration but Romana pulled her back, just as more water gushes out from Lynley's mouth. "What the hell was that?"

"He was drowning," Romana told them, looking at Lynley's dead body. "All the water in his body seemed to have drowned him and then he had a sudden blow to a heart, as though someone wanted him dead. But what for?"

Braxiatel turned to a nearby servant, a servant who was with them earlier in the room. "Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humours. A natural if unfortunate demise. Call a constable and have him taken away."

The maid curtseyed. "Yes, sir."

Another maid joined them, dressed in black. "I'll do it, ma'am." Her friend nodded and she walked away.

Martha frowned. "Why are you telling them that? Romana has clearly stated what has happened here."

"Unfortunately, these primitive humans are stuck in the Dark Ages and have yet to believe in science." Braxiatel began as Romana continued to examine Lynley. "If we told them what Romana knows, they'll begin to panic and think it was witchcraft."

"Okay, what was it then?" Martha asked. How could somebody have murdered this man with such power?

"Something that is a make believed witchcraft," Romana grimaced, standing up. "It looks to me as if somebody wants the play to be continued now they have Lynley out of the way." She looked up at them, serious. "This wasn't an accident, it was murder."


	7. The Shakespeare Code: Power of a Name

They were back in the Elephant Inn with Shakespeare, Romana looking deeply troubled and she paced furiously up and down the room, hands clasped behind her back, deep in thought.

Dolly, Shakespeare's maid walked in, frowning at Romana. "I've got you a room, Lady Romana and Mr Braxiatel and I've got you a separate room as well, Miss Jones." She nodded over towards Martha before leaving.

Shakespeare took a drink of his beer, sighing. "Poor Lynley. So many strange events. You say this was murder Lady Romanadvoratrelundar?"

"Yes." Romana replied, not stopping her pacing. "Someone or something wants your play to be continued. But why? What for? Lynley wanted to stop your play and someone must have overheard the conversation. Somebody within this building is not human. It's the only obvious explanation." She glanced at Braxiatel. "And it's not us that's done it either."

"So you reckon it was someone near by?" Shakespeare frowned, trying to ignore the last part of her sentence. _Not human. _Certainly she didn't mean aliens? Did she? "But how could it be when the man as you said, was drowning. Drowning on dry land?" He shook his head. "This is beyond me but tell me this Braxiatel, my dear friend. How does one change his face and yet have eyes so cold on both?"

Martha frowned, wondering what Shakespeare meant by Braxiatel changing his face. She had heard that twice tonight. Were they some kind of shape-shifting aliens? But if they were, why haven't they told her?

"Let's just say I do a lot of dark reading old friend." Braxiatel replied, ignoring his question purposefully.

Shakespeare shook his head, knowing he wasn't going to get anything out of Braxiatel or any of his secrets. "A trite reply. Yeah, that's what I'd do." He turned to Martha. "And you, you look at Braxiatel and Lady Romanadvoratrelundar like you're surprised they still exists. They're both a puzzle to you as they are to me."

Martha knew he was right, she had only just met these aliens yet there was so much to discover about them and she looked across the three of them, Romana still pacing slightly and she shook her head. "I think we should say good night." She left the room, leaving the three of them to their business.

"I must work. I have a play to complete. But I'll get my answers tomorrow, Braxiatel, Romana. I'll discover more about the pair of you tomorrow and why this constant performance of yours, Romana."

Romana made her way out of the door and she turned her head slightly to see Shakespeare. "I'd like to see you try." She smirked darkly before leaving.

Braxiatel glanced at Romana, watching her leave. "There is a small matter of something I would like to talk to you about."

"Oh? About what?" Shakespeare raised an eyebrow.

"Romana."

Shakespeare glanced at the doorway that Romana left through moments before. "Ah. She is a fine lady. What about her?"

"I'm..." Braxiatel paused, wondering how he should come about this topic. He sighed heavily.

Shakespeare laughed. "You're in love with her!" He carried on laughing, ignoring Braxiatel's glare and scowl, knowing the look upon Braxiatel's face and Shakespeare could see when a man was in love with a women. "Ah, when one is in love it is one of the most torturous device god has created. I should know because I have been down that path myself." He drank some of his beer. "You are a proud man Braxiatel and Romana is an very intelligent and strong women. You'll both be able to figure it out how to cross the bridge when the time comes I'm sure."

Braxiatel nodded and made his way over to the door. "All the world's a stage." Braxiatel replied, thinking briefly over what Shakespeare had said.

Shakespeare looked impressed. "Hm, I might use that. Good night, Braxiatel."

"Good night, William Shakespeare." He gave a curt nod before following after Romana and Martha.

He entered their room to find Martha examining it and Romana sitting up right on the bed, looking thoughtful. "It's not exactly five-star, is it?" Martha asked, putting down the object she was holding.

"We've been in worse." Romana replied, thinking back on her years as being prisoner and she looked at Braxiatel, knowing he was thinking the same.

"So, come on then. Tell me. What did Shakespeare mean by you changing your face? Are you a shape-shifter of some sort?" Martha asked, glancing at them both.

Braxiatel took his jacket off and hung it up neatly on the door. "No, we're not shape-shifters." He replied. "Our species have a way of cheating death. When we're dying, we have what is called a regeneration process where we re-write every single cell in our body and become a completely new person."

"So, when you met Shakespeare last time, you had a different face right?" Martha began, processing the information. "So then in between you had a regeneration."

"A few." Braxiatel nodded.

"Hopefully you'll never have to see us regenerate," Romana told her. "It can be a very dangerous, tricky process at times but Time-Ladies have more control of it than Time-Lord's." Romana looked smugged and Braxiatel merely scowled.

Martha shook her head. "Right. Regeneration." She hugged herself. She was still learning more about them every time but this was a vital information to her and she knew she was prepared just in case if either of these Time-Lord's did regenerate. "And I haven't even got a tooth-brush for tonight."

Romana pats down her pockets in her coat before rummaging through them and getting out a TARDIS blue tooth-brush. "Here you go. Contains Venusian spearmint. Don't worry, I haven't used it."

Martha laughed. "Thanks." Braxiatel went onto the bed next to Romana, both of them not bothered by the little space they have. "So, magic and stuff. That's a surprise. It's a little bit 'Harry Potter'."

Romana scoffed at the thought. "Magic? It's not magic, it's _science."_

"Come on! You've seen it yourself! What happened to that poor guy, it was like black magic!" Martha pointed towards the window, indicating to where the death of Lynley took place.

"It's make-believe magic. It will always come down to science in the end Martha for there is no such thing as magic. It looks like witchcraft but it really isn't." Romana replied, denying every existence of magic. Time-Lord's have always opted for Science. Lower species will call science magic but in the end, science always wins. She looked over at Martha. "There's such thing as psychic energy but no human in this time would not be able to do that. Not without a generator that's the size of Taunton."

Braxiatel chuckled. "I'd think we'd be able to spot that Romana."

"Oh of course we'll will. But the main question is, who wants the play to be continued mmm? Something is staring at me right in the face and I can't see it." She ran a hand through her hair, irritated. "And there's something about the Globe having 14 sides bothering me."

Martha nodded. "We'll work it out tomorrow morning. Good night, Romana. Good night, Braxiatel."

"Good night Martha." Both Time-Lord's called and Martha walked out of their bedroom, closing the door behind them.

Romana and Braxiatel lied so that they were facing each other, neither of them needing any sleep. "What do you think it is?"

"Something very old." He replied. "The power of words would be having something to do with this. As you know, words are very powerful."

"Don't you think I know that?" Romana replied, thinking back on all those speeches she made when she was back on Gallifrey. One of the things she was famous for besides being President was her speeches. Time-Lord's always loved speeches and Romana was no exception. She sighed. "I just hate not seeing things that are staring right at me in the face. Leela would have accused this as witch-craft, but both you and I know it's not."

"No," Braxiatel agreed and he tried hard not to think how much he enjoyed being so close to Romana, especially on a small bed and he quickly pushed those thoughts to the side. He had more important matters at hand to think about. "The Doctor would know."

Suddenly, there was a loud scream coming up from above and Braxiatel and Romana both jumped out of their bed and ran towards it, greeting Martha in the hallway and they went into Shakespeare's room where he jolted awake from his sleep on the desk and Braxiatel and Romana rushed to examine Dolly's body.

Shakespeare blinked away his sleep. "Wha? What was that?"

Martha ran to the window and her eyes widened as she saw a silhouette of a witch on a broom flying in the sky, cackling and she shuddered, not wanting to believe what she just saw.

"Her heart gave out. She died of fright." Braxiatel explained, looking at her.

"Romana?" Martha asked, breathlessly.

Romana joined Martha by the window, leaving Braxiatel. "What did you see?"

"A witch."

* * *

The next day, they all met in Shakespeare's room and Shakespeare was sat at his desk, his play in his hands and he shook his head, saddened by the death of Dolly. She was a very close friend of his and to lose her in such a way, saddened him greatly. "Oh, sweet Dolly Bailey. She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place. We all ran like rats. But what could have scared her so? She had such enormous spirit."

"Something terrifying apparently." Romana murmured, looking thoughtful as she rested her head on top of her hands.

Martha looked over towards Shakespeare. "No, but I saw a witch. Whether you like it or not Romana," She looked at Romana who scoffed at the idea of a witch existing. "Big as you like, flying, cackling away and you've written about witches."

Shakespeare frowned, trying to think of when he wrote about witches. "I have? When was that?"

Braxiatel whispered in Martha's ear. "Too soon for that Martha." Martha looked sheepish, realizing the mistake she has made.

"Peter Streete spoke of witches." Romana commented and they all stared at her.

"Who's Peter Streete?" Martha asked.

"Our builder. He sketched the plans to the globe." Shakespeare replied, nodding in confirmation. Pete was a dear friend of his but then bad things happened to him after he had finished the globe which was such a shame to the poor man as he was a genius himself in his own way.

"I would like to have a word with him. Perhaps he knows of these _witches,"_ Romana sneered. "That we are speaking of. But first, we need to see the globe itself. Come on!" She ran off and Shakespeare and Martha looked at Braxiatel questioningly.

"Well, do as my lady says." He looked at them pointedly before leaving the room. "We're going to the globe."

* * *

A little while later when they have arrived at the globe theatre, Romana and Braxiatel were standing in the pit whilst Martha and Shakespeare were onstage.

Romana gazed around. "The columns there yes? 14 sides. Tell me, William, why are there 14 sides to this?"

Shakespeare shrugged. "It was the shape Peter Streete thought best, that's all. Said it carried the sound well."

"It sounds familiar. 14..." Romana frowned, shoving her hands in her coat pocket. "What is it with the number 14?"

"There are 14 lines in a sonnet." Martha pointed out helpfully.

Romana nodded in agreement. "There is. Words and shapes that follow the dame design." She began to pace. "14 lines, 14 sides, 14 facets...Tetradecagon! Oh, come on Romanadvoratrelundar! You can do better than this! Words, letters, numbers, lines!"

"This is just a theatre!" Shakespeare pointed out.

Braxiatel looked at him. "You'll be surprised at how much _magic_ a theatre can hold, William. Standing on this stage, or any stage for the matter with people saying the right words with the right emphasis at the right time. You can make a man weep, make a man cry with joy and you can change a man himself. You can change people's minds with words in a theatre and if you exaggerate it..."

Martha looked at him. "It's like yours and Romana's police box. Small wooden box with all that _power _inside."

Romana beamed at her. "I knew there was a reason we chosen you to be our companion Martha Jones." She looked at Shakespeare. "Now that I have had a proper look at the theatre, I would like to see the man himself. Peter Streete. Is there a way you can take us to him?"

"You won't get an answer. A month after finishing this place...lost his mind." Shakespeare replied, shaking his head.

"I've lost my mind once." Romana whispered quietly, remembering how after being a Dalek's prisoner for a decade, she had completely lost her mind and she hadn't been sane in a while after that. But luckily, the Doctor helped her to heal and recover, even if it did take a long time. "It wasn't pretty."

Braxiatel frowned. "Was this when the Daleks kept you prisoner?"

Romana nodded. "Your brother helped me to recover and heal afterwards, but for a long time I wasn't sane. Wasn't safe for anybody, not even from myself and without your brother, I would think I would have still lost my mind." She closed her eyes slightly, remembering her painful past. "It was in the early stages of when I came President. He told me to relax, saying I was taking things far too seriously and I relaxed for only a brief nanosecond before I was kidnapped by Daleks who made me lose my mind." She laughed bitterly. "That served me well."

Martha and Shakespeare looked at her with wide eyes. Martha couldn't believe it. Romana always held herself so strong and held herself with so much authority and to hear her that she had been a prisoner of some sorts and to have lost her mind...it was completely unimaginable.

Romana shook her head as though getting rid of the memories before smiling. "So, can you take us to Peter?"

"Of course, but like I said...you won't be able to get anything out of him." Shakespeare warned her.

"Why? How did Peter lose his mind?" Martha asked.

"Started raving about witches, hearing voices, babbling. His mind was addled." Shakespeare shrugged.

"I will. Just watch me try." Romana told him and Shakespeare knew that Romana was going to win.

Braxiatel looked thoughtful. "Perhaps the witch that Martha saw had something to do with making Peter losing his mind. Wanting to get rid of him. Where is he now?"

"Bedlam." Shakespeare replied.

"What's Bedlam?" Martha asked, looking confused.

"Bethlem Hospital, otherwise known as the madhouse. Perfect for someone like me." Romana gave a tight smile. "We're going. Right now." She turned on her heels and Braxiatel and Martha followed her.

Shakespeare followed them closely. "Wait! I'm coming with you. I want to witness this at first hand!" Just as he was leaving, two of his finest actors walked in and Shakespeare handed them copies of the script. "Ralph, the last scene as promised. Copy it, hand it round. Learn it. Speak it. Back before curtain up. Remember, kid. Project. Eyes and teeth. You never know, the Queen might turn up." He walked out before scoffing to himself. "As if. She never does."

Shakespeare quickly followed the trio down a street, Romana and Braxiatel walking ahead and Shakespeare caught up with Martha, admiring her beauty. "So tell me, Miss Martha Jones, where are you from?"

"Erm...Freedonia." Martha lied, amused.

"And do you have an occupation there of sorts?"

"I'm a Doctor."

Shakespeare looked impressed. "A land where women can be Doctors and rulers! Tell me more!"

"This country's ruled by a woman." Martha reminded him.

"Ah, she's royal. That's God's business. Though you are royal beauty." Shakespeare grinned.

Martha stopped in her tracks, realizing where this conversation was taking them. "Whoa, Nelly! I know for a fact you've got a wife in the country."

"But Martha, this is town." Shakespeare protested and Martha merely gave him a pointed look.

Romana looked at them. "You humans, honestly. After we have solved this case, you humans can have a good flirt later but for now we have serious matters at hands!"

"Is that a promise, Romanadvoratrelundar?" Shakespeare smirked.

Romana gave an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, 57 academics just punched the air. Now move!"

* * *

They arrived in Bethlem where they heard loud screams and moans coming from the prisoners and the Jailer was walking them through the halls and Braxiatel looked at Romana in concern, noticing she's got her cold facade on. "Are you all right my lady?"

"I'm fine. Just...terrible memories coming back. I suppose I deserve them, I can't always escape unscratched." She told him truthfully.

The Jailer looked over his shoulder. "Does my Lady Romana wish some entertainment whilst she waits? I'd whip these madmen. They'll put on a good show for ya. Banddog and Bedlam!"

Romana rounded up on the jailer and pressed him up against the wall, her arm pressing down on his neck and he appeared to be struggling for breathing. How could this tiny women overpower him? Shakespeare moved to calm down Romana but Braxiatel indicated for him to stay back. "Don't you dare lay a hand on them!" Romana snapped. "Whipping them doesn't do any good and I know that for a fact. All these poor men need is a doctor! A proper doctor! Not some torture device to make them even more insane!" She tightened her grip and the jailer looked at her, terrified. "Now, let us speak to Peter." She glared at the jailer before letting him go and the jailer rubbed his sore neck before quickly scurrying away, wanting to get as far away from Romana as possible.

Shakespeare looked at her, slightly concerned. Having lost her mind in the past...he can understand how that felt. He too, had lost his mind. Especially when his son had died and that wasn't a good path for him to go down on and he knew that being here, brought back bad memories for both of them. But never did he imagined the strength that Romana could hold! If she could, he wouldn't be surprised if she could take down the jailer if she wanted to.

Romana gave a heavy sigh and Braxiatel squeezed her hand in comfort and Martha looked at her sadly. "So this is what you call a hospital yeah?" Martha asked Shakespeare, trying to distract them from what happened. "Where the patients are whipped to entertain the gentry? And you put your friend in here?"

"Oh, and it's all so different in Freedonia." Shakespeare retorted darkly.

"But you're clever! Do you honestly think this place is any good?" Martha protested.

"Like Romana, I too have lost my mind. Fear of this place set me right again in a way. It serves its purpose." Shakespeare replied quietly.

"Mad in what way?"

"You've lost your son haven't you?" Braxiatel replied softly. "Last time we met, you introduced me to him."

Shakespeare nodded. "I did. My only boy. The Black Death took him and I wasn't even there."

Martha looked at him sadly. "I didn't know. I'm sorry." Not only had she learnt that Romana had lost her mind but also William Shakespeare too! And she had even studied Shakespeare at school but never did she knew that he had lost his mind. Martha hoped that one day she wouldn't come down to that.

"It made me question everything. The futility of this fleeting existence. To be or not to be...oh, that's quite good." Shakespeare looked slightly pleased.

Romana gave him a gentle smile. "You should write that down."

"Hm, maybe not. A bit pretentious?"

"This way, m'lady!" The Jailer called, glancing at Romana nervously and they walked down the hall to Peter Streete's cell and the jailer unlocked the door. "They can be dangerous, m'lady. Don't know their own strength."

Romana glared at him. "As I've said before, it would help if you didn't whip them! These are your patients. They need love, kindness and support! Not hatred, whipping and been made mockery off! No matter what they have done. Now get out of my sight before I will do something I will regret!" The jailer gulped before quickly leaving the room.

Braxiatel turned to Romana. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked, concerned. He didn't want any harm coming to her despite knowing the fact that Romana could take care of herself.

"Of course. I know what's it like to lose your mind Braxiatel, believe me." She gave him a pointed glare before slowly approaching Peter. "Peter? Peter Streete? My name is Romanadvoratrelundar, but you are more than welcome to call me Romana. I have come to talk to you." She began softly.

Shakespeare shook his head. "He's the same as he was. You'll get nothing out of him."

Romana gently laid a hand on Peter's shoulder, ignoring Shakespeare and knowing that this man needed a gentle hand. Someone kind and caring and approachable to talk to. "Peter?" She asked again more softly and Peter's head jerked up and he looked at Romana with wild, glassy eyes and it looked as though he wanted to speak, but couldn't and Romana knew what he felt like for she had been in his postion once before. She gently placed her fingertips along Peter's face. "Peter, I want you to go into your past, exactly one year go. I want you to let your mind go back, back to when everything was normal. I want you to let go. That's it, you're doing good." She helped to lie Peter down on his cot. "Tell me your story, Peter. I'm very much interested. I especially want you to tell me about the witches."

Peter looked at her. "Witches spoke to Peter. In the night, they whispered. Got Peter to build the Globe to their design. _Their design! _The 14 walls, always 14. When the work was done," He laughed manically. "They slapped poor Peter's wits!"

"Do you know where the _witches _live Peter?" Romana asked. "Because we are going to put an end to it, that I promise you." She told him sincerely.

Pete looked at her desperately. "All Hallows Street."

"Too many words." A voice hissed and Romana quickly stood up, staring face down at the witch that had arrived so suddenly and quietly into the room.

Martha gasped, shocked. "What the hell?"

"Just one touch of the heart!" The witch smirked and was about to make her way to Peter but Romana was in her way and couldn't get past her.

"Don't you dare." Romana snarled dangerously. "Don't you dare lay a finger on him. You've done enough to him all ready!"

"Witch! I'm seeing a witch!" Shakespeare gasped, horrified.

"Fine." The witch merely shrugged, glaring at Peter before looking around at the others. She could deal with Peter later when they weren't here. "Then who shall I pick for my next victim mm? Just one touch, that's all it takes!" She cackled before she turned to Romana. "Perhaps it shall be you!" She cackled. "Poor, fragile, mortals."

"Good thing I'm not mortal." Braxiatel muttered quietly underneath his breath.

Martha went over to the door, terrified and she began to shake on it. "Let us out! Let us out!" She screamed.

"That's not going to work. The whole building is shouting that." Braxiatel told her calmly.

The witch glanced at them all. "Who will die first, mmm?"

"If you're looking for volunteers, then I'll be the first option." Romana spoke calmly, broadening her shoulders.

"Romana, no!" Braxiatel shouted, his hearts quickening. No, not his dear Romana. He would blame himself for eternity if anything happened to her.

"No mortal has the power over me." The witch told them.

"Then it's a good thing I'm here." Romana smirked dangerously, looking at the witch closely. "I know what you are and I will name you. Humanoid female who uses shapes and words to channel energy and uses the number 14. The 14 stars of the Rexel Planetary configuration! Creature, I name you, _Carrionite!" _Romana pointed her finger at the carrionite and the carrionite wailed and disappeared with a flash.

Martha blinked, trying to figure out what happened. "What did you do?"

"I named her species. Magic doesn't exists but the power of a name does. We should know that." Romana sent a coy smile at Braxiatel. "Old magic."

Martha frowned. "But you said yourself before, there's no such thing as magic."

"And there isn't. It's all down to science. If you have the right string of numbers, the right equation, you can spilt the atom. Carrinoites use words instead." Romana replied.

"Use them for what?" Shakespeare asked, having calmed down.

"The end of the world." Braxiatel replied before looking at Peter. "But I think somebody should keep an eye on Peter, get him a proper doctor in case the Carrinoites come back."

Romana nodded. "Now that we have the Carrinoites address. Come, let's go back. I don't want to be here longer than necessary." She gave one last look at Peter before walking out of the cell, the others following her.


	8. The Shakespeare Code: Magic vs Magic

They were back in Shakespeare's room at the Elephant Inn and were sat around the large table, all of them discussing what to do next now that they knew the Carrionites were behind this.

"So, tell me Romanadvoratrelundar," Shakespeare began. "What are these Carrionites?"

Romana looked at them, serious. "The Carrionites disappeared centuries back at the dawn of the universe. Nobody knew if they were real or just a legend."

"Well, I'm going for real." Shakespeare told them, nodding and Braxiatel nodded in agreement.

"But what do they want?" Martha asked.

"To build a new empire on Earth. A world full of bones and blood and what they would call, _witchcraft._" Romana sneered. "But both you and I know it's all down to science."

"But how?" Martha shook her head, trying to figure it out.

"We're looking at a man with words." Braxiatel replied and he glanced at William.

William looked startled. How could Braxiatel accuse him of such a thing? "Me? But I've done nothing."

Martha looked at him. "Hold on, though. What were you doing last night, when that Carrionite was in the room?"

"Finishing the play."

"What happened on the last page?" Braxiatel asked. He knew the play would never be completed, otherwise he would have had it in his Collection centuries back. He would have sent his team to come and collect it or he would have collected it himself.

"The boy gets the girl. They have a bit of a dance. It's all as funny and thought provoking as usual, except those last few lines." Shakespeare frowned, thinking back to last night. "Funny thing is, I don't actually remember writing them." And that was scary because Shakespeare always remembered what he wrote down, no matter what.

Romana nodded. "That's it. They used you as their puppet. They have the final words like a code. The Carrionites are using your play as a weapon." She sat back in her chair. "With the right combination of words, spoken at the right place with the shape of the Globe as an energy converter! The play's the thing!" She jumped out of her chair, grinning before looking at Shakespeare. "Yes, you can have that."

Braxiatel got out a map of London from his jacket pocket and placed it on the table. "All Hallows Street," He began, pointing to it's location. "There it is. Romanadvoratrelundar, Martha and I will track the witches down whilst you, William, you will have to get to the Globe and stop that play at all costs."

"I'll do it old friend." He shook Braxiatel's hands. "All these years I've been the cleverest man around. Next to you and Romana, I know nothing."

Martha looked at him fondly. "Oh, don't complain."

"You're not nothing Shakespeare," Romana agreed. "Everyone is brilliant at their own thing. Who wrote all those sonnets and plays? Nobody but you. You _are _a genius Shakespeare, trust me." She smiled. "But I do have to brag, I am the most cleverest person in the room at the time." They all began to laugh at her comment, knowing it was true.

"Thank you." Shakespeare felt warmed by her kind words. He couldn't begin to imagine this woman losing her mind to what she is now. A kind, caring woman who wanted to stop evil at all costs. "Good luck to all of you."

They began to make their way out of the door, Braxiatel stopping in the door frame and looked at Shakespeare. "Good luck, Shakespeare. Once more unto the breach!" He disappeared.

Shakespeare grinned. "I like that. Wait a minute...that's one of mine dear friend!"

Braxiatel poked his head around the door, raising an eyebrow at him. "Oh, just do as Romana says!"

* * *

The three of them found themselves on Hallow's street, making their way to the witches house. Martha ran to keep up with the Time-Lord's pace. "The thing is though...am I missing something here? The world didn't end in 1599. It just didn't. Look at me, I'm living proof!"

"The world's in infinite temporal flux." Romana replied, looking around the street to spot the Carrionite's house. "Time is in flux and can change every second. Nothing is ever safe Martha. If you go back and change history..." She let the sentence hang.

Martha's eyes widen, realizing what she was saying. "You start to fade away. Like Marty McFly in Back to the Future. Oh my god, am I gonna fade?"

"Not just you but the entire future as well," Braxiatel told her. "If we don't stop the Carrionites in 1599 that is."

"I've found the house." Romana told them as she stopped outside a dark, gloomy house where the front door mysteriously opens and she grimaced. "Ah, the witches house."

They walked in to find Lilith, another one of Shakespeare's maids in the room standing near by some cauldrons. Romana glanced at her. "You were expecting us." Romana told her. "You could use some cleaning around here."

The Carrionite smirked. "Oh, I think death has been waiting for you a very long time."

"Right then, it's my turn." Martha stepped forward. "I know how to do this." She pointed her finger at the Carrionite. "I name thee, Carrionite!" Lilith remained unaffected and began to laugh mockingly at her. Martha frowned and looked at the Time-Lord's. "What did I do wrong? Was it the finger?"

"The power of a name only works once. Observe." The Carrionite pointed her finger at Martha. "I gaze upon this bag of bones and now I name thee Martha Jones." Martha collapsed and Braxiatel gently lowered her to the ground before she could do any real damage to her.

"If you harmed her-" Romana began angrily, glaring at her.

"She's only sleeping." The Carrionite assured her. "Curious, the name has less impact. She's somehow out of her time. And as for you, Romanadvoratrelundar!" She pointed her finger at Romana but Romana was unaffected and the Carrionite frowned, glancing between the two Carrionite's. "Fascinating. There are no names for you. But how about, you? Irving Braxiatel!" She pointed her finger at Braxiatel, but like Romana, he remained unaffected and the Carrionite frowned. "Why would such a powerful woman hide her true name in despair? Or why would a cold blooded man hide his true name? Oh, but look. There's one word with the power that aches."

"The naming will not work on us." Braxiatel told her coldly.

"Your heart grows cold, Romana. The north wind blows and carries down the distant..._Gallifrey."_

Romana advanced dangerously on the Carrionites, trying not to show her anger. "Oh you have just made a big mistake because Gallifrey is everything that we stand for. That name is what keeps us fighting! But tell me this, _Carrionites," _She spat out their name. How dare they use the name Gallifrey! That name was all they had left of their home planet! "Your kind vanished centuries ago. Tell us, what happened?"

"The Eternals found the right word to banish us into deep darkness." The Carrionite replied, unfazed by Romana's anger and smirked, pleased to see Romana embracing her inner darkness.

"So how did you escape?" Braxiatel cocked his head to the side slightly, studying her.

"New words. New and glittering from a mind like no other."

Braxiatel glanced down at a cauldron where he could see an image of an unconscious Shakespeare at the Globe and he knew that the play had not been cancelled. "William Shakespeare." He told them, looking disappointed at the image of the unconscious Shakespeare.

The Carrionite nodded. "His son perished. The grief of a genius. Grief without measure. Madness enough to allow us entrance."

"How many of you escaped?" Romana asked.

"Just the three of us. But the play tonight shall restore the rest. Then the human race will be purged as pestilence. And from this world as will lead the universe back to the old ways of blood and magic."

Romana laughed harshly. "There's no such thing as magic." She told her. "What's your name?"

"Lilith." She replied and she walked closer to Braxiatel and stood face to face with him and Braxiatel stiffened, warning her not to come any closer but Lilith ignored his warning.

"Sounds to us as as though you have a busy schedule," He drawled before narrowing his eyes. "But I would love to see you try and get past us."

"Says the man whose name is not Irving Braxiatel." Lilith smirked seductively. "It should be a pleasure to see our enemies with such beautiful and handsome features." She ran her fingers alongside his face but he slapped her hands away from him.

"I would like to see you try." Romana glared at Lilith coldly just as Lilith took a lock of hair from the back of Braxiatel's head.

Braxiatel fingered his hair, frowning. "Did you-"

"Just a little souvenir." Lilith retorted, all ready going back towards the window.

"Give it back!" Romana snapped, heading towards her but Lilith threw her arms up and the window behind her opened and she flew out backwards, levitating outside. "Now you're cheating." Romana scolded just as Braxiatel dashed up next to her.

"Behold, Irving Braxiatel and Romanadvoratrelundar. Men to Carrionites are nothing but puppets." She pulled out a doll and wrapped Braxiatel's grey hair around it, neither of them noticing Martha awakening.

Romana scoffed at Lilith's doll. "You call that magic? That's nothing but a DNA replication module!"

"What use is your science now to save your love one?" Lilith smirked and she stabbed the doll and Braxiatel let out a cry of pain and Romana gasped, helping Braxiatel lie on the floor and Martha rushed over to him having finally woken up, ignoring Lilith's cackles as she flew away. Martha rushed over to them.

"Braxiatel!" Romana gasped, putting his head in her lap. "Come on, you great big useless lump. You've survived worse than this."

"Oh my god! Don't worry, I have him." She listened for both of his hearts before looking at Romana, both smiling faintly. "Hold on, mister. Two hearts?" Romana and Martha helped him to stand up but he nearly fell but both women supported him.

"Aahh!" He groaned out in pain. "Trouble is, I'm half human, on my mother's side. Myself and my brother when he was alive would always have heart problems with one of our hearts due to being half human." He told them before grimacing and he looked at Martha. "I've only got one heart working. How do you humans cope? I've got to get the other one started. This is disgusting!" He grimaced in pain. "Hit me! Hit me on the chest!" Martha hits him on the chest. "Aahh! Other side!" Romana hits him on the side. "To the left, my left heart is the weakest." Romana hits him again and Braxiatel straightened his back before fully standing. "Thank you both."

Romana shook her head fondly. "You should never have let the Carrionite stand too close. Ready to run back to the Globe?"

"I shouldn't have should I?" Braxiatel mused, straightening his shoulders once more. "Are you ready Miss Jones?"

"You are both impossible!" Martha laughed, sort of glad to know that his mother was human. "But yes, let's go and stop them!"

The three of them ran down towards the globe and they saw people screaming and running away from the globe and they looked up to see a red glow of energy pouring from the theatre itself. The preacher who had they met earlier walked up to them. "I told thee so! I told thee!" He announced before running as fast as he could.

"Come on! The back door!" Romana shouted over the noise and they rushed off just as the thunderclouds and lightening began, mixing in with the red glow.

They went back stage due to the front doors being locked and saw Shakespeare waking up and nursing his head. Braxiatel rounded up on him. "You had one simple job, Shakespeare. Stop the play, I said. But you haven't!"

"I hit my head." Shakespeare protested, wincing as his head was sore. It didn't help for the fact that hundreds of people were screaming in the next room either.

"If you rub it anymore, you will end up going bold." Romana countered just as she heard screaming from the front. "There's our cue!" Romana grabbed Braxiatel's hand and Martha grabbed Shakespeare's hand, following the Time-Lord's.

They entered the stage and Romana spotted the three main carrionites sitting in the centre of the stands, high above them and saw them cackling. The remaining Carrionites freed from their crystal fly around the globe.

Braxiatel turned to Shakespeare and grabbed his hand, pulling him forwards. "William Shakespeare, history needs you!"

Shakespeare blinked. "But what can I do?" What does history need him for? He was nothing more than an author! One of the few in history at this point in time.

"You need to reverse the process!" Romana yelled over the noise.

"How do I do that?"

Braxiatel looked at him. "The shape of the globe gives words power, but you're the wordsmith, the one true genius. The only man apart from myself, clever enough to do it."

"But what words? I have none!" Shakespeare protested.

"You're William Shakespeare!" Braxiatel yelled. "You are full of words! You need to trust yourself, old friend. When you're locked away in your room, the words just came didn't they? Like a river running! Words of the right sound, the right rhythm are words that last forever! This is what you do William! Chose the right words. Improvise!"

Shakespeare looked upwards towards the flying carrionites. "Close up this den of hateful, dire decay! Decomposition of your witches plot! You thieve my brains, consider me your toy. My doting President tells me I am not! Foul Carrionite spectres, cease your show! Between the points..." He looked at the Time-Lord's for help.

"7-6-1-3-9-0!" Romana replied, shouting over the noise.

"7-6-1-3-9-0! And banished like a tinker's cuss, I say to thee..." Shakespeare once more looked at them, looking lost.

Martha stepped forward, holding her jacket tight. "Expelliarmus!" She cried. She had always loved the Harry Potter books when she was a kid. They were an escape for her and today, they might have just saved the whole world and it's future with it. Magic against magic.

"Expelliarmus!" Both Time-Lord's shouted after Martha, both smiling broadly.

"Expelliarmus!" Shakespeare shouted, continuing his part.

"Haha! We must thank Jo after this." Romana smirked and they heard the Carrionites wail as they got sucked up into the cloud in a tornado fashion as do the copies of the play. "There you go Braxiatel. Love's Labours Won is no more. If it was, you'd have it in your Braxiatel Collection centuries back."

The cloud dissipates and the audience sighed in relief before applauding. Romana and Braxiatel shared a look with each other before ducking out, not wanting to be thanked or needing the attention. They weren't like the Doctor.

Martha looked at Shakespeare. "They think it was all special effects."

Shakespeare smiled. "Your effect is special indeed."

Martha laughed, blushing slightly. "It's not your best line." She took Shakespeare's hand and she and Shakespeare took their bows along with the actors.

Meanwhile, Braxiatel and Romana went to the stand that Lilith sat in and they saw a crystal with the three of them trapped, scratching at it and glaring at them with hatred. Braxiatel stuffed it in his pocket before looking at Romana. "Witchcraft mmm? Who says anything about the wicked witch of the west?"

"Haha!" Romana shook her head. "Witchcraft isn't real. Never was. Come, let's join the others."

* * *

The next morning, they found themselves back in the Globe theatre, Braxiatel rummaging through the backstage area, seeing if he could find anything interesting when Romana found a ruff collar and she smirked. "Come here." She indicated for him to come and Braxiatel went over, eyeing it as she put it around his neck. "Suits you."

"Do you think?" He asked and he spotted an animal skull and he picked it up, impersonating Hamlet. "Bit too much Hamlet in my opinion."

Romana shook her head. "I like you just the way you are Braxiatel." She told him simply before making their way out, finding Martha and Shakespeare talking on stage. "Braxiatel's rather fascinated by your props back there William."

Braxiatel looked at the skull more closely. "Now I think about it, this skull reminds me of the Sycorax and I rather not be thinking of them right now." He put the skull back down on the stage, now eyeing it distastefully.

Shakespeare looked at him thoughtfully. "Sycorax. Nice word. I'll have that off you as well."

"How's your head?" Romana asked him, sitting down beside Martha.

"Still aching."

"Wear this," Braxiatel removed his collar and puts it on Shakespeare's neck. "Neck brace, will help you to recover. All though, saying that, I think you ought to keep it. Your style." He mused.

"What about the play?" Martha asked.

"Gone forever. If it had stayed, Braxiatel would have had it in his Braxiatel collection by now." Romana replied.

Martha frowned. "Braxiatel Collection? What's that?"

"Ah." Romana winced. "Centuries back, Braxiatel used to own a museum to preserve history so to speak from all corners of the universe. It has long since been destroyed now."

"What, you were like a curator?" Martha asked, blinking at Braxiatel. She knew he was a man of fine taste, but never did she expect to go that far!

"Yes," Braxiatel nodded. "It covered the size of a whole planet. Let's just say, I liked to collect beautiful things." He smirked.

"So my masterpiece is truly lost then?" Shakespeare asked. If Braxiatel didn't have it in his collection, that meant the play was lost forever. Perhaps for good.

"Gone forever. Please, don't write it up again as there is still power in those words you wrote. Best stay forgotten." Braxiatel looked serious.

"Oh, but I've got new ideas. Perhaps it's time I wrote about fathers and sons. In memory of my boy, my precious Hamnet." Shakespeare gave a gentle smile before turning to Romana. "Have you ever been a mother, my lady Romanadvoratrelundar?"

"No," Romana smiled sadly. "I've been too busy ruling to become a mother."

"Maybe you're not a mother," Shakespeare looked at her wisely. "But you were a mother to your people when they needed you."

Romana looked at him, realizing how true his words were and Braxiatel cleared his throat, making the three of them look at him. "It's time we said our goodbyes. My brother had a rather lovely attic in the TARDIS where I can store the Carrionites," He held up the crystal. "Can scream for eternity. I hope he hasn't deleted it because really, it was rather a lovely attic the last time I ventured in there."

"To travel through space and time?" Shakespeare suggested. "You and Romanadvoratrelundar both come from a different world and Martha is from the future. Even if you hadn't told me beforehand, I would have worked it out."

"You are one of the most intelligent human beings on the planet." Braxiatel told him. "Well, at this point in time."

Shakespeare laughed before shaking hands with Braxiatel. "We are alike in many ways old friend and next time I hope to see you although, don't go changing your face again and giving me a fright." He winked at him before he planted a kiss on Romana's hand. "My lady, it has been an honour knowing a woman with such a long and beautiful name." Braxiatel moustache twitched and he narrowed his eyes slightly at William who merely chuckled before turning to Martha. "And now, a sonnet for my Dark Lady." Martha's eyes widened with happiness, realizing which sonnet he was referring too. It had always been one of her favourite sonnets when she was in high-school and to now know that Shakespeare had dedicated that particular sonnet to her, that meant the world! "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate-" Just as Shakespeare was about to continue, two of his actors came in, both beaming up at them all.

"Will! Will! You'll never believe it! She's here! She's turned up!" One of his friends, Dick called gleefully, running up to Will. He couldn't believe it! The Queen was finally here!

Another one of the actors grinned. "We're the talk of the town. She heard about last night! She wants us to perform it again!"

"Ah, better not." Romana told them, grimacing at the thought of having to save the world from the Carrionites a second time.

"Who?" Martha asked, nudging Romana gently.

"Her Majesty! She's here!"

There was a loud fanfare and Elizabeth the first entered the throne room and Romana and Braxiatel stood next to each other, Romana beaming. "Queen Elizabeth 1st! It is an honour!" She bowed.

Elizabeth glared at her, looking at them before looking around the room as though looking for an extra person beside Shakespeare and Martha only to realize the person she was looking for wasn't there and she pursed her lips, looking angry before turning to Romana and Braxiatel. "Lady Romanadvoratrelundar and Irving Braxiatel!" She snapped at them angrily.

"I'm sorry?" Romana asked, confused.

"Where is he?" She spat. "Him? You two and him are my sworn enemies!"

"Him?" Romana blinked, looking bemused. "I'm sorry but time-travel does get confusing. What are you talking about?"

"Romana!" Elizabeth snarled again, advancing forwards on them dangerously."Braxiatel!"

"What the devil is going on?" Braxiatel asked, just as confused as Romana. He wasn't looking forward to this future trip with Queen Elizabeth.

"Off with their heads! All of them!"

"Okay, I'm beyond confused. Gallifrey, this is going to cause a paradox." Romana muttered, shaking her head.

Martha rolled her eyes. "Never mind that! Just run! See you, Will! And thanks!" Martha yelled, grabbing a hand from each Time-Lord and dragging them away before running back to the TARDIS, hearing Shakespeare laugh.

"Stop those traitors!" Elizabeth yelled and the soldiers began to ran after them.

The three of them ran quickly, Martha still in the lead as the soldiers ran after them and Romana sighed in relief when they saw the TARDIS nearby. "Stop in the name of the Queen!"

"I'm afraid I'm higher authority there!" Romana yelled back as they ran. "I'm the President!"

"What have you two done to upset her?" Martha panted as Braxiatel fumbled to get the key inside the TARDIS. "And who did she mean by him? Did she mean you?"

"Time Travel," Romana replied. "We haven't met her yet so we must have a new companion or something in the future. There's time travel in a nutshell for you. To be honest though, I'm rather looking forward to finding out to as to why we are her sworn enemies." Braxiatel unlocked the door and Martha dashed inside quickly and Romana looked up at Braxiatel. "Another new adventure to look forward too!"

"Look out!" Braxiatel shouted, shoving Romana inside just as an archer fired and embedded an arrow on the TARDIS door, moments where Romana had been before and Braxiatel quickly dashed inside just as the TARDIS dematerialised.


	9. Eighth Man Bound

"Check-mate." Romana grinned in victory as she took off Braxiatel's pieces from the chessboard. "You're growing careless with chess Braxiatel. I would say you're losing your touch." They began to pack away their chest set. It was old and ancient set with Gallifreyan symbols on the side, once belonging to the Doctor but now it was theirs. Just like everything else on board this TARDIS. "Mmm...how about Sepulchasm instead?" Sepulchasm was a board game created by their own people and it was a game that exercised psychic abilities. Many young time-lord children and many Time-Lord's would often play this and Romana hadn't played it in centuries.

"Or we could try and play Eighth Man Bound." Braxiatel joked darkly. The reason why he lost the match was to let Romana win and seeing her smile as she won the game. He would mostly lose to her. He wanted to lose to Romana but now and then, he would gain his own victories when he could.

Romana gave him a pointed glare. Eighth man bound was a very dangerous game. Young Time-Lord's at the Academy would play it and it was so dangerous, the game could actually result a regeneration. Romana had seen her friends play it back at the Academy but luckily, no regenerations were caused but one did get a nasty injury. "Now that's not funny." Romana shook her head. "Eighth man bound is a very dangerous game and you know it and besides, we're not children. Not anymore. We don't need to see into our future regenerations." That was the whole point of Eighth Man Bound. It was for young Time-Lord's to try and see into their future regenerations, the furthest anyone has ever gotten was seven but they couldn't see their Eighth regeneration, hence the name. Romana always thought it was an extremely foolish game and never dared to play it when she was at the Academy.

Braxiatel looked thoughtful. "Now how did the Eighth Man Bound Poem go? Ah yes: _Eighth Man Bound, Make no sound. The shroud covers all the long and the short. And the old and the loud. And the young and the dark and the tall." _Romana threw a chess piece at him, scowling but Braxiatel merely laughed, picking up the fallen chess piece of the floor which turned out to be a king. "Relax, Romana. We're no longer at the Academy. It's only a children's game."

"Still, I don't approve of it. It's highly dangerous." Romana picked up the last remaining chess piece which was the black queen and she looked at it thoughtfully. Time-Lord's invented chess. It was their game despite it being very popular amongst the rest of the universe. "I remember when I was a student back at the Academy, people from the Arcalian and Prydonian Chapters would try and see past their seven bodies and would try and bet who would get past number seven. Nobody succeeded of course."

"I remember my brother boasting that he could see past his first seven bodies," Braxiatel replied but he scoffed. He never believed his brother. "But of course he would. He was the Doctor. He would boast about anything."

"Says the Time-Lord who liked to brag about his museum." Romana smirked, taking a sip of her red wine. They were in the library of the TARDIS. Martha had gone to bed for a few hours, claiming that seeing William Shakespeare and defeating the Carrionites had exhausted her so the Time-Lord's decided to venture into the library to play a few board games to pass the time.

Braxiatel raised an eyebrow at Romana. "Now I did not brag about my Braxiatel Collection thank you very much. I merely let out snippets about it here and there but I did not brag. Bragging is not my style."

"I'm sure." Romana smiled secretively. "Your collection used to drive Narvin around the bend. He nearly convinced me to get rid of your collection at one point."

"I remember that very clearly." Braxiatel nodded, putting away the chess set before grabbing himself a bottle of Draconian whiskey. He remembered when he was a young time-tot, his father would hold a large basement just to store Draconian whiskey and wine, claiming it was the only whiskey he would ever drink because it was that good. "But it appears I have the talents to be persuasive." He took a sip of it before sitting in his chair, feeling very much relaxed.

"I suppose." Romana gave an exaggerated sigh, swirling her wine around her glass. "What would they think of us now Braxiatel? If they could see us, what would they think?"

Braxiatel knew who she meant by they. She was talking about Narvin, Leela, K9 Mark 1 and 2, Andred and even Inquisitor Darkel who was nothing more than a thorn in Romana's side. Who wanted nothing more than to make Romana's life a living hell, very much like Rassilon. All of them have perished during the Time-War an neither of them would never see their close friends again.

Braxiatel looked at her. "I think...they would have understood what you did what you had to do." He began gently and Romana looked at him. "Narvin certainly wouldn't have agreed with you and your ways but then again, that's Narvin." He gave a dark chuckle, remembering his old friend. "The K9'S...they would have perhaps given you equations of some sorts with no sense of humour. As for Leela an Andred...they would hate you at first but over time, they will forgive you. Leela always had a forgiving nature."

"After a while she would." Romana agreed. "Do you ever miss them?"

"All the time." Braxiatel nodded before he raised his glass to Romana. "To long ago."

Romana raised her glass and gently knocked it against his. "To long ago." She repeated before they both downed their drinks, both looking at each other sadly as they remembered all those who perished in the last Great Time War. She gazed around the TARDIS library, admiring all the books. She was still working on her project, the book about the last great Time War. She was taking it slow at the moment, doing it when she had time to herself. She wondered if Braxiatel had any projects he was working on but decided not to ask, knowing the man wouldn't give her a clear straight answer anyway. "Draconian whiskey? Really?" She asked instead. She had noticed that Braxiatel liked to drink Draconian drinks more than any other species but she never knew why.

Braxiatel smirked. "It was always my father's favourite. When I was a child, he used to keep a whole basement full of Draconian whiskey, claiming it was the only whiskey he would ever drink."

"My father drank but he was never a heavy drinker," Romana began. "He only drank the finest beers that Gallifrey had to offer, stating that nothing could compare to Gallifreyan drinks." She looked down at her own drink, a simple red wine from 1880 France and smiled sadly to herself. "I guess he was wrong."

"Perhaps." Braxiatel mused before he looked at his watch on his wrist. "Don't you think it's time to wake up dear Martha Jones? She has been asleep for nearly nine hours. More than an average human should sleep. Perhaps meeting William Shakespeare and having the sonnet the Dark Lady dedicated her excited her too much."

"Time certainly flies by when you're having fun." Romana laughed slightly. "But yes. I'll get the TARDIS to wake her up. Do you mind if you tidy up the glasses?"

"Not at all." Braxiatel took her glass of her and stood up. "I'll see you in the console room my lady."

"You better." Romana smiled before she left the room, her hands clasped in front of her.

Braxiatel glanced after her before he went to clean the glasses and shook his head. One day, Romana was going to be the death of him but he knew it would be worth it. No matter what.


	10. Gridlock: Kidnaped

"So, Martha Jones." Romana began as she walked around the console. Martha and Braxiatel were sat in the captain's chair and watched her beginning to flicker some buttons. "You have been to the past, how about we go to the future. How would you like that?"

Martha looked thrilled at the opportunity and she couldn't help but feel slightly giddy inside. She was being offered to see the whole universe! Who wouldn't be excited? "No complaints from me!"

"I should sincerely hope not." Braxiatel drawled. "We don't want our companions to be complaining about our travels do we now mmm?"

"I think it's time we went to another planet." Romana mused. "I've had enough of Earth for a while. Really, the amount of times we bump into your planet Martha is outrageous!"

Martha laughed. "Well then, can't we go to yours and Braxiatel's planet instead? You know, the planet of the Time-Lords and Time-Ladies! How cool would that be?"

Romana and Braxiatel glanced at each other. They had yet to tell Martha that they were the last of their kind but with them being so busy as it was all ready, they hadn't had time and to keep telling people about no more time-lord's but them existing, it just left two great big holes in their hearts after a while and it kept reminding Romana of what she did with the Moment. What she did to her people to save the rest of the universe and it hurts.

Romana looked away, unable to meet her eyes. "There's hundreds of other places to visit Martha." She told her sternly, trying to hide the painful look and Braxiatel sighed. "Our home can wait a little while longer."

Martha jumped out of the captain's seat and went next to Martha, not seeing the looks the Time-Lord's shared and she looked at them, beaming. "Come on, though! Gallifrey." Martha nudged her. That's what the Time-Lord's told Martha. What their home planet was called and Martha had heard Romana say it enough times with Shakespeare to figure it out that it was the name of their home planet as well. "Planet that you were President on! That's got to be worth a look! What's it like?"

"One of the most beautiful planets in the universe." Braxiatel commented, giving Romana a look.

Martha turned her head slightly so she could look at him. "Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?" Romana and Braxiatel closed their eyes, imagining Gallifrey as it was before the Time War had begun. Imagining it's beauty and imaging it how they wanted it to imagine. Before it all turned into hell and all it's beauty destroyed with it. "Great big temples and cathedrals!" Martha was oblivious to the both of the Time-Lord's, too lost imagining what their home planet must be like. "Lots of planets in the sky?" Martha continued, making them both blink.

Romana smiled faintly. "Oh, that old planet of ours. Gallifrey's sky was a burnt orange. The capitol, which is where we lived." She indicated between her and Braxiatel. "Was enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond the dome the mountains could go on forever and the hermits would live in the caves and all the Old Houses would live outside the dome with all those Cousins and family members inside. All proud and ancient. Then there were slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow and the children within the citadel would run around and play and sing and dance of songs of old."

Martha looked utterly enthralled. "Can we go there?"

"Why would we want to go home?" Braxiatel asked, his moustache twitching. "Besides, we don't like the new President there. Do we Romana?" He looked at her pointedly.

"Not really, since he tried to erase me from existence." Romana nodded, knowing he meant Rassilon. "Very nearly succeeded too! Besides, there is a whole universe waiting for us out there. Instead-" With the help of Braxiatel, they drove the TARDIS smoothly through the vortex before it landed gently, not even a slight bump came out of the TARDIS as they landed. "We're taking you to the year five billion and fifty-three on the Planet New Earth." She grabbed her coat from the coat stand before throwing Braxiatel his jacket who caught it and put it on. "We've landed you in New New York."

"Actually, it's the fifteenth New York." Braxiatel corrected her and Martha looked amused. "We've been here before and it's one of the most dazzling cities ever built." He opened the door for them and lead them out of the TARDIS and both Romana and Martha scowled as they both quickly fastened up their coats.

"Oh, that's nice! Time-Lord version of dazzling!" Martha exclaimed, zipping up her jacket.

"He just likes to show off." Romana replied. "I travelled with his brother for a few centuries when he was alive and the habit seems to run through the family."

"At least I have better flying skills than my brother did." Braxiatel replied as he got out a large question mark umbrella and he went in the middle and Martha and Romana went on either side. "Besides, it's only rain. You have plenty of that back on the original Earth. Now let's find shelter, I'm rather fond of this suit thank you very much."

He led them through the slummy portion of the city and they dashed through a junk-ridden street where the rain had stopped and Braxiatel threw away his umbrella in one of the giant dumpsters. Romana looked around in disgust. "Oh nice. Looks like the TARDIS has took us to the down town New New York."

Martha couldn't help but agree with her. "Yeah but it looks very much like the same old Earth to me. On a Wednesday afternoon."

"Let's see where we are." Braxiatel went over to a dead screen on the wall and he took out his sonic pen and the screen came static before he banged on the screen itself to get it to work before a women appeared on the screen but Braxiatel knew she was nothing more than a hologram.

"And the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway." The hologram told them and the image of the screen shifted to reveal the New New York above ground, the very same place where Romana and Braxiatel had been last time.

"That TARDIS of ours," Romana shook her head. "That's where we wanted to go. We're on the lower levels, in what appears to be an under-city."

"You've brought me to the slums?" Martha sounded irritated but she couldn't help but smile. Truth be told, the slums in the future were better than nothing.

"To be fair, we did stay on the upper city last time and well, you know what they say," Braxiatel mused. "Best enjoy the sides of both worlds. "

"Both of you will enjoy anything." Martha grinned.

"Well, nearly anything. There are one or two things or more that I dislike." Romana grinned back.

"But hold on, when you say the last time, was that with your last companion?" Martha asked, not daring to say the name Rose. Back in the TARDIS after they welcomed her on board, they had explained what this Rose had done and Martha vowed never to make the same mistakes as her. She couldn't believe how ignorant Rose had been.

"Last time we came here we got attacked by evil cat nuns, zombies that were not really zombies and Braxiatel got possessed by a female version of Michael Jackson." Romana smirked, counting it off her fingers and Martha couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, I'm thinking I'm starting to like the under ground version of New New York so far."

Braxiatel scowled at the memory. It hadn't been a good day for him that day. "Don't forget, she possessed all of us."

"She seemed to love you though." Romana retorted and just as she was about to continue, a man suddenly flipped open the top of a large green box to reveal a street vendors cart. Around the three of them, many others began to do the same and all began to shout out their wares and Romana realized they were pharmacist.

"Oh! You should have said. How long have you been there? Happy! You want happy!" The man shouted, wanting to encourage them over.

A women leaned over her counter, peering at them excitedly. "Customers! Customers! We've got customers!"

Another women grinned. "We're in business! Mother, open up the Mellow and the Read!"

The man ignored them and looked at Braxiatel, holding out what appeared to be stickers of some sort. "Happy, happy, lovely happy!"

The women who was excited about them being here spoke. "Anger! Buy some anger!"

The man shook his head. "Younger, them. They'll rip you off. Do you want some happy?"

Romana straightened her shoulders. "We don't want any, thank you very much," She told them coldly.

Martha frowned, looking at the 'stickers' the man was holding. "Are they selling drugs?"

"Drugs, moods, same thing." Braxiatel shrugged before a pale women in raggedy clothes who heard the cries of the pharmacists walked with intent to one of the stalls, one with one of the women in.

"Come over here, yeah. And what can I get you, my love?" The pharmacist asked her and the three of them watched in silence.

"I want to buy forget." The women told her.

The pharmacist nodded. "I've got forget, my darling. What strength? How much you want forgetting?"

The young women bit her lip, trying not to cry. "It's my mother and father. They went on the motorway."

The pharmacists looked at her with sympathy. "Oh, that's so sweet." She reached behind her into the stall and pulled out a smaller circular token and held it out to the pale women. "Try this. Forget forty-three. That's twopence." The pale women paid the pharmacists but before she could do anything with it, Romana went over to her and stopped her, knowing exactly what those moods could do.

"I'm sorry if this is an invasion of your privacy," She began gently. "But what happened to your parents?"

"They drove off." The women replied sadly.

"But...you do know that they will drive back to you?" Romana frowned. "They wouldn't just leave you would they?"

The women looked on sadly. "Everyone goes to the motorway in the end. I've lost them." She told Romana with despair.

"But there might be time to get them back." Romana insisted. "You can still find them." But the pale women just looked at her before looking down at the mood with a sigh and sticking it on her neck. "No, don't!" Romana called out.

But it was too late. Once the women had stuck the token onto her neck, the women's expression changed instantly and she seemed docile and unaware of her surroundings, almost as if she didn't remember how she got here. The women blinked, looking at Romana. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

Romana sighed, knowing the women would forget everything that had happened to her parents."Your parents and how they are on the motorway."

The women gave a small smile. "Are they? That's nice." Martha shared a disbelieving look with Braxiatel and Romana looked disturbed but not surprised. "I'm sorry, I won't keep you." They watched her disappear and Romana turned to look at Martha and Braxiatel, troubled.

Martha shook her head. "So that's the human race five billion years in the future. Off their heads on chemicals." As soon as she said this, two figures sprung out from behind her and Braxiatel, carrying guns and dressed in leather clothing. The women grabbed Martha whilst the man grabbed Braxiatel, dragging them off and pointing their guns at them. Martha began to scream with terror and Braxiatel began to resist but the man was incredibly strong and they began to retreat, Romana advancing on them dangerously.

"I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry. We just need four. That's all." The man told her desperately.

"No! Let them go!" Romana yelled dangerously advancing even closer on them. "Whatever you need, we can help you. All of us, just let them go! Please!"

The women shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." The women looked like she was going to cry herself and slammed the door, locking it on the other side with Martha and Braxiatel in their clutches and Romana bared her teeth in frustration as she began to wrestle the door.

"_Romana! They're not real guns. They're fake." _Braxiatel told her in her mind but it didn't make things any easier for them and she used her sonic screwdriver and yanked the door open before legging it after the kidnappers.

* * *

Martha's and Braxiatel's kidnappers emerged in daylight and were running down a fire escape. The women had Martha by the arm whilst the man still held Braxiatel by the neck in an uncomfortable position, still holding out their guns.

Braxiatel tried to fight him off. "I'm a soldier!" He spat. "I fought in one of the biggest wars in the universe and I can tell the difference between a fake gun and a real gun and you're definitely holding fake guns and I don't care what my lady says but I am going to murder you both in cold blood if you don't let us go right now!" He pulled free from the man's grip and was about to punch the man but the man saw it coming and grabbed his arm and locking it behind Braxiatel's back and Braxiatel realized they stopped in front of a black car.

"Give them both some sleep." The man told the women.

Martha struggled furiously beneath the women's grasp. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare put that stuff on me! Get off me!"

"I'm not human." Braxiatel bared his teeth at them. "I'm not human, it won't work on me."

The women ignored him. "It's just Sleep fourteen." The women reached out into the vehicle behind her and pulled out two more tokens. "Make that Sleep twenty for him." She looked upset but purposeful as though she knew what she was doing was wrong. "No, babies, don't fight it."

"Babies?" Braxiatel spat at her. "How dare you, you filthy human apes! Savages, that's what you are! Savages!" Braxiatel remembered how Narvin always called Leela a savage but then again, most Time-Lord's did and he winced at the memory.

"I'm telling you, don't put it on!" Martha yelled and Martha couldn't resist for long and she fell asleep and the man put the stronger one on Braxiatel's neck.

Braxiatel struggled and felt his body weakening. "I'm...not...human!" He managed to blurt out. "It won't work!"

The man looked at his partner as she carried Martha into the car. "Get another stronger one on him." She nodded and handed him another token.

"No!" Braxiatel struggled but it was too late. The man put the second token beneath the first one and Braxiatel tried to resist but five minutes later after his kidnapper helped him into the car, he felt himself going to sleep. "No...Romana..." He slumbered and he collapsed onto the floor and all he could think about was Romana.

"Get on board." Their kidnappers spoke and they closed the car door before starting up the car.

* * *

Romana was running down the corridor where Braxiatel's and Martha's kidnappers went down. They couldn't have taken them. No, they couldn't have! She was going to get them back, no matter what it took her. She pushed herself even further, her coat billowing behind her as she ran and she just ran out of the fire escape to see the car rise into the air, it's power rising up. "Braxiatel!" She yelled mentally and physically, frantic as she grabbed her sonic screwdriver. "Braxiatel!" But it was too late, the vehicle speeded off down a small alleyway and out of sight and Romana looked on in despair, her hearts breaking as she watched the car disappear until she could see it no more.

* * *

"How are they Milo?" Milo's partner asked as they put Martha on the bed and Braxiatel next to the wall, his head slumped.

"The women's all right. She's breathing, pulse is fine and no harm done. But the man..." He shook his head. "He has two hearts! I can't even find his pulse either."

"He did say he was none human." His partner reminded him as she drove.

"I wonder what species he is then? He looks human but yet he's not." Milo shook his head. "They look rich as well, must have gotten lost." Milo replied as he looked at Braxiatel's fine clothing. It must have cost him a fortune to buy those and he dreaded to think how much it costed him to buy that tie of his. "Never mind that, they're both worth their weight in gold to us." He sat down in the driver's seat and pulled out a vocal transmitter and began to speak into it. "This is car four six five diamond six. We have four passengers, repeat. Four. Request access to the fast lane."

"Access granted."

Milo beamed at his partner, his lovely Sheen who was pregnant with his child. This was it. They were finally going to be happy and get the life that their child deserves. "Oh yes!" They smiled at each other excitedly and kissed.

* * *

Romana stormed back towards the alleyway, looking dangerously angry and pounded on the door of one of the now-closed stalls. It flipped up quickly and the women behind the counter smiled weakly, seeing the anger in Romana's eyes and leaned towards her over the countertop. "Thought you'd come back! Do you want some happy, happy?"

Romana was mad. Madder than she had ever been and she snarled angrily, her whole body shaking. "Those savages who took the people I cared about the most. Where did they take them?"

The pharmacy man next to them opened up his stall, looking gloomy. "They've taken them to the motorway."

The women nodded, trying not to appear frightened by Romana's anger. "Looked like car-jackers to me. Must be 'cos you're rich and that. I'd give up now, darling, you won't see them again. Neither of them."

The man continued to speak. "Used to be thriving in this place. You couldn't move. But they all go to the motorway in the end."

Romana whirled on them, glaring at them all coldly through her narrow eyes and they all gulped. "They said four. What did they mean by four?"

"It's the car-sharing policy, to save four. You can get it with three or four people and if you have that exact amount, you can get special access." The women replied.

"Tell me how I get to the motorway." Romana snapped.

The women pointed Romana the directions. "Straight down the alley, keep going to the end. You can't miss it." Romana strides off in the direction she indicated, not missing a second to rescue Braxiatel or Martha. "Tell you what, how about some happy happy? Then you'll be smiling my love!"

At this comment, Romana came back in, roaring at them all angrily, making them all turning silent. "Here's a word of advice all of you. Cash up. Close down and get the hell out of my way!"

The women frowned. "Why's that then?"

"I've lost Braxiatel once before and it was all my fault. I will not lose in again in the same manner. He is the only piece of home I have left and I will not forgive myself if something happens to him or Martha. I will find them both! Both alive and well and then I am coming back and I will put order to this community. This street is closing. Tonight!" Romana yelled before storming towards the motorway and the pharmacists glanced at each other, apprehensive.

* * *

Braxiatel jolted awake, his vision slightly blurred and he looked next to him to see Martha still sleeping on the bed beside him and he looked to find himself sleeping on the floor. He blinked rapidly, trying to get his vision to focus and he saw his kidnappers up at front, not realizing he was awake. He reached for the two tokens on his neck and pulled it off before quietly doing the same to Martha.

Martha fuzzily came to and blinked as she saw Braxiatel putting his finger to his lip, indicating for her to stay quiet and she nodded, understanding what he meant. She looked around and saw the gun beside her and looked at Braxiatel questioningly.

"Fake." He mouthed at her and she merely nodded and Braxiatel indicated for Martha to stay where she was and he crept up quietly behind the man who was sitting lazily in the drivers seat before he grabbed him in a headlock, pointing his sonic pen at his the back of his neck. The women screamed in fright. "Now, you can do this the easy way or the hard way." Braxiatel warned him, jamming his sonic pen into the back of the man's head. "I'm a trained soldier, I know how to kill. Take myself and Martha back to where you found us. Take us back to my Lady Romanadvoratrelundar and no harm will come to either of you and we will not cause you any trouble is that understood?" The man merely whimpered. "Is that understood?!"

"We will take you back!" The women told him quickly, getting very upset and emotional. "I swear we never wanted this to happen. We're really, really, sorry. We just needed access to the fast lane but I promise you, as soon as we arrive, we'll drop you both off and you can go back and find your friend."

Martha looked at her, not trusting her. "Seriously?"

"I swear! Look-" The woman pulled back her hair to reveal a token on the neck. It was the same as all the others but with the word _honesty 36 _printed on. "Honesty patch."

"Oh yes, because moods make you all trust worthy don't they?" Braxiatel sneered in disgust, not letting the man go. "Let's hear it from your real mouth." He indicated for Martha to take the token off the girl and Martha did and the women gave a small yelp of pain, rubbing her neck as to where the token once was. "Do you swear it now?"

The woman nodded quickly. "I swear it on my life."

Braxiatel looked at the man. "Do you?"

The man nodded, or as much as he could within Braxiatel's grasp. "I swear it."

Braxiatel relaxed his grip and unlocked him and the man rubbed his neck, wincing slightly. "Well then. Introductions are in order from our kidnappers don't you think Martha?"

"I think so, yeah." Martha breathed, not realizing the breath she was holding. She had been terrified that the kidnappers were going to do something terrible to them and not only that, if Braxiatel was going to do something just as terrible to them!

"I'm Cheen." The woman nodded, giving them a small smile. "And this is Milo."

"Hi." Milo looked up weakly, afraid of Braxiatel making another move on him.

"Irving Braxiatel, at your service." He gave them a curt nod. "Then again, you are at our service now."

"Martha. Martha Jones." Martha replied as she accidently hit her head on the roof, the roof being too small for them that they had to end up crouching.

"Where are we anyway?" Braxiatel asked, looking out of the window, trying to see where they were but he couldn't due to the window being so dirty.

"We're on the motorway." Milo replied.

Martha frowned, also having trouble seeing what was outside the window. "What's that then? Fog?"

"That's the exhaust fumes." Cheen smiled.

"We're going out to Brooklyn. Everyone says the air's so much cleaner, and we couldn't stay in Pharmcy Town, 'cause..." Milo rubbed Cheen's knee and Cheen grinned up at Martha, ignoring Braxiatel's eye roll.

"Well, 'cause of me. I'm pregnant. We only discovered it last week. Scan says it's going to be a boy." Milo made a mock victory gesture, thrilled at Cheen.

"What do we do now, congratulate our kidnappers?" Martha asked sarcastically.

Cheen looked outputted. "Oh, we're not kidnappers. Not really." Braxiatel scoffed at the comment.

"Nope. You're idiots! You're having a baby and you were wearing drugs a moment ago! Good job I took it off for you." Martha told Cheen coldly. "You're not wearing them anymore. Doctor's orders."

Milo merely nodded. "This'll be as fast as we can. We'll take the motorway to the Brooklyn flyover and then after that it's gonna take awhile, 'cause then there's no fast lane, just ordinary roads but at least it's direct."

Cheen looked at them, smiling. "It's only ten miles."

"How long will that take? I need to get back to Romana as soon as possible." Braxiatel insisted.

"About six years."

Braxiatel and Martha both froze, glancing at each other and Martha gave them a _you have got to be kidding me _look and Braxiatel kicked the side of the bed, ignoring the pain that just shot through his foot. "What?" Martha asked coldly, not believing her ears.

Cheen and Milo merely smiled, oblivious to them. "Be just in time for him to start school." They giggled, the feeling of parenthood coming over them.

Martha looked at Braxiatel who was resting his arm against the roof of the car, pinching his nose. "Six years? Is that the earliest you can get?" Braxiatel snarled.

"Yeah." Martha nodded. She really didn't fancy spending six years with her kidnappers in a dirty old car. "Six years? Ten miles in six years? How come?"


	11. Gridlock: Rugged Cross

Romana was in a dilapidated corridor, near the motorway access and she buzzed her sonic screwdriver, the only thing on her mind was to rescue Braxiatel. She had to rescue him. He was the only person close to her hearts that truly mattered. She forced open the large door and the lock opened with a loud clang and she stepped through onto a platform and she coughed slightly, now in an atmosphere of heavy smoke caused by the millions of exhaust fumes from cars. She covered up her mouth with her coat jacket, looking around to try and find Braxiatel's and Romana's kidnappers when the door to one of the hovering vehicles in front of her opened ad a large figure covered in protective gear leaned out. "Hey! You daft little street strut! What are you doing, standing there? Either get out or get in! Come on!" The figure indicated for her to come in, just as she was about to start a coughing fit and Romana jumped through the open doors and into the car and the man quickly closed the door behind them. "Did you ever see the like?" He asked, shaking his head.

The women next to Romana handed Romana an oxygen mask and Romana took it gratefully, getting her breathing back on track. "Here you go." The woman smiled kindly up at Romana.

"She was just standing there, breathing it in!" The man pulled off his goggles, cap and scarf and Romana realized he was a cat, reminding her of Novice Hame the last time she visited. "There's this story says back in the old days, on Junction forty-seven, this women stood in the exhaust fumes for a solid twenty minutes. By the time they found her, her head had swollen to fifty feet!"

The women in the other seat, shook her head amusedly. She was used to her husband's jokes by now. "Oh, you're making it up."

The cat sat in the drivers seat, looking at both women, a wicked glint in his eye. "A fifty-foot head! Just think of it. Imagine picking that nose."

His wife gave him a playful slap, trying to stop herself from laughing."Stop it. That's disgusting."

"What? Did you never pick your nose?" The cat grinned cheekily at his wife.

The woman suddenly sat up straights and tapped him on the arm. "Bran, we're moving!"

"Right. I'm there. I'm on it." He pulled a lever on the console and the engines in the back of the car spew out smoke. As they went forward, the other cars move into place around them, horns beeping in every corner but they didn't get very far though and after a couple of seconds, the cat draws the lever back and shook his head. "Twenty yards! We're having a good day." The woman smiled and both of them turned to face Romana who was standing behind them and she pulled off her oxygen mask, nodding her thanks to them both. "And who might be lady? Very well-dressed for a hitch-hiker."

"Thank you for the oxygen mask. Usually I can survive without oxygen for ten minutes but today is a bad day," She shook her head, her curly black hair swaying from side to side. "I'm Lady Romanadvoratrelundar. Pleasure to meet you."

The cat blinked. "Lady Romana-what?"

Romana chuckled. It always amused her to see when people had difficulty getting her name right, watching them struggle to pronounce it. She hoped if she ever had children, they'll pick out a good strong name that won't be too difficult for others to pronounce. "You can call me Romana if you like. I travelled with a man once who called me Fred because he complained my name was too long to call out if he ever needed rescuing."

"Ha-ha! My name's Thomas Kincade Brannigan and this is the bane of my life, the lovely Valerie." Brannigan shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you." Valerie smiled up at Romana.

Brannigan gestured behind Romana. "And that's the rest of the family behind you."

Romana turned and draws a curtain behind her, revealing a basket of mewling kittens. Romana smiled at them. "Hello little ones." She reached gently out to them as the parents of the kittens share a glance and Romana turned back to Brannigan an Valerie, now with a tiny black kitten in her hands. "How old are they?"

"Just two months." Valerie replied proudly, stroking her daughter's head.

"Poor little souls. They've never known the ground beneath their paws." Romana gave him a puzzle look. "Children of the motorway."

Romana winced, remembering all the children that were born during the Time-War. The children of the barricades is what they use to call them. They didn't live very long, not without their parents protecting them. "They were born in here?"

"Do I look like a teenager? We've been driving for twelve years now." Brannigan told her proudly.

Romana couldn't believe her ears. Tweleve years? They've been driving for tweleve years? "You're serious?" She asked, not believing him. How was that possible?

"Yeah! Started out as newlyweds! Feels like yesterday."

Valerie looked out of the window, feeling like tweleve years had been wasted of her life. "Feels like tweleve years to me."

"Ah, sweetheart, but you're still lovely." He tickled her and she giggled, their troubles forgotten for a short while.

"Where did you start?" Romana asked.

"Battery Park. It's five miles back." Valerie replied, looking at her concerned.

Brannigan looked concerned at his wife. "I think she's a bit slow."

Romana reached behind her and puts the kitten back with its brothers and sisters. Valerie looked at her. "Where are you from?"

Romana looked around the car. "A long way from home. I have to get out. My two friends have been kidnapped, one of them the same species as me and we're the last of our kind and if anything happened to him, I won't forgive myself. My other friend, Martha. She's only human and both were taken hostage. I need to get back to the TARDIS." She pulled open the door next to her but emerged into nothing but a cloud of smoke and she coughed before quickly closing it.

Brannigan looked at her sadly. "You're too late for that. We've passed the lay-by. You're a passenger now, clarity Jane."

"When's the next lay-by?" Romana asked urgently.

Brannigan looked thoughtful. "Oh...six months?"

Romana swore in High-Gallifreyan, causing Brannigan and Valerie to look at each other, confused.

* * *

Braxiatel leaned over Milo's seat, looking extremely irritated whilst Martha leaned over Cheen's seat, looking out of the window. "How many cars are out there?" Martha asked, breaking the silence. She didn't want any more violence between Braxiatel or Milo. Even though she was angry with them for the kidnapping, she knew violence was never the answer.

"I don't think anyone knows." Cheen replied and she reached out for a biscuit and held one out for Martha and Braxiatel. "Here you go. Hungry?"

Braxiatel sneered at the biscuit, knowing what contained inside it. "No thank you."

Martha took it. "Never mind him. But thank you." She began to eat on the large round wafer.

"How far down is it to the fast lane?" Braxiatel asked. "Time likes this is where I wished I had kept my Time Ring or a vortex manipulator."

"Time Ring?" Milo frowned. "Never heard of it."

"You wouldn't because my people invented it." Braxiatel countered back coldly. "So, tell me. How far down is it to the fast lane?" Martha and Cheen shared a nervous look, knowing that Braxiatel was not very happy.

"It's right at the bottom, underneath the traffic jam. But not many people can afford three passengers, let alone four so it's empty. Rumour has it you can reach up to thirty miles per hour." Milo grinned.

"Wow. That's like, crazy." Martha replied in a sarcastic manner, making Braxiatel roll his eyes and making Milo and Cheen laugh.

"So, what species are you? You look like human, yet when Milo checked for your pulse, he couldn't find it. But he did say you had two hearts." Cheen asked Braxiatel, looking at him curiously.

"Time-Lord. We came first." Braxiatel sniffed.

"Never heard of them." Cheen retorted and Martha glanced at Braxiatel, frowning.

"Yeah, well. Let's just say Time-Lord's are much higher species than you humans will ever be." Braxiatel glared, not going onto the topic at how his people are long since gone.

"But you mentioned being a soldier before," Martha pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "You mentioned fighting in one of the biggest wars in history. What do you mean by that?"

They all looked at him and Braxiatel ran a hand through his grey hair. "It was a bad day and bad things happened." He replied stiffly, his moustache twitching. "I don't like to talk about it, not without Romana. What have you got in your car anyway apart from food?" He asked, changing topics quickly and Martha frowned at him. He didn't want to talk about the Time War, not without Romana. It just brought back too many painful memories.

"Oh, we stocked up. Got self-replicating fuel, muscle stimulants for exercise and there's a chemical toilet at the back. And all waste products are recycled as food." Cheen replied cheerily, pointing from her car seat.

Martha stopped eating and eyed her wafer as though it was a deadly enemy, making Braxiatel chuckle slightly. "Oh-kay." She dropped the wafer as fast as she could onto the floor behind them.

Milo grinned, noticing the screen. "Oh, another gap. This is brilliant!"

"Car sign in." The monitor replied.

Milo spoke into the transmitter. "Car four six five diamond six, on descent to fast lane, thank you very much."

"Please drive safely." The monitor replied as the humans cheered and Braxiatel looked on gloomily, just wanting to get back to Romana as soon as possible.

* * *

Romana was sonicing her sonic screwdriver onto Brannigan's car screen, going onto the New New York Police department and held onto the transmitter. "I need to talk to the police."

"Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold." The monitor replied.

This made Romana frown. Now that was unusual. No matter what century or planet she was on, the police would always answer phone calls. No matter what. So why weren't the police answering them? Unless they too, have all fled to the motorway. "But you're the police! You're meant to help people!"

"Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold."

Romana scrambled up to the front of the car, looking irritated. Why would nobody help her? "I would communicate telepathically with Braxiatel but he's too far away for me to do so." She looked between Brannigan and Valerie who were still sitting in their drivers seat. "Is there anyone else we can contact? Last time I came here, myself and Braxiatel got on very well with the Duke of Manhattan, is there anyway we can perhaps contact him?"

Brannigan raised an eyebrow. "Oh, now ain't you all proper?"

"As a matter of fact, I am." Romana replied before sighing. "I have to find Braxiatel. I can't be the last of my kind again. I've been alone before and I've hated it. Braxiatel is all I have left."

Valerie looked at her sadly, seeing how desperate she was to get back to him and her other friend, Martha. "You can't make outside calls. The motorway's completely enclosed."

"Is there anyway we can contact other cars? Even if they're nearby?" Romana asked desperately.

Brannigan turned to the monitor. "Oh, we've got contact with them. Yeah. Well, some of them anyway. They've got to be on your friends list. Now, let's see...who's nearby? Ahh! The Cassini sisters! Alice and May!" He held up his transmitter, speaking into it. "Still your hearts, my handsome girls. It's Brannigan here."

Just then, an old lady spoke onto the phone. "Get off the line, Brannigan. You're a pest and a menace." She said jokingly.

"Oh, come on, now sisters. Is that anyway to talk to an old friend?" Brannigan asked.

"You know full well we're not sisters. We're married!" Alice scolded him.

"Oooh, stop the modern talk! I'm an old-fashioned cat. Now, I've got a hitch-hiker here, calls herself Lady Romanadvoratrelundar." He looked at Romana. "But you can call her Romana for short."

Romana took off the transmitter from him. "Hello! This is very important. I'm looking for two people. Irving Braxiatel and Martha Jones, both car-jacked at the same time and they are both in one of these vehicles but I don't know which car they are in."

"Wait a minute." May replied and Romana could here her flipping through her book. "Could I ask, what entrance did they use?"

Romana frowned, looking at Brannigan. "Where were we?"

"Pharmacy town." He replied.

"Pharmacy town, twenty yards back." Romana told them.

"Let's have a look."

"Just my luck, to marry a car-spotter." Alice muttered.

"In the last half hour, fifty-three new cars joined from the Pharmacy Town junction." May told Romana.

Romana pinched the bridge of her nose. "Can you narrow that down? Or anything more specific?"

"All in good time. This Irving Braxiatel and Martha Jones, were they car-jacked by two people?"

"Yes. One man and one woman, both youngish."

"There we are. Just one of those cars was destined for the fast lane. That means they have four on board and car number is four six five diamond six." May told her.

"Thank you! Is there anyway of finding them?" Romana asked hopefully. There just had to be a way. There just had to be.

"Ah, now there I'm afraid we can't help you." May replied sadly.

Romana turned to Brannigan. "Is there a way you can call the car-jackers? We've got their number. Diamond six."

Braxiatel shook his head. "Not if they're designated fast lane. It's a different class."

"You could try the police?" May suggested.

"They put me on hold," Romana replied.

"You'll have to keep trying. There's no one else." Alice told her sympathetically.

"Oh don't you worry. I'm going to get them both back. No matter the cost. Thank you." Romana told them sternly and she handed Brannigan back the transmitter, thinking deeply.

* * *

Milo slowly drove through the massive lines of cars and on the screen, it showed the line representing their car and showed them moving from Level 39 to Level 43 an Milo pointed at it and he looked at Braxiatel. "See? Another ten layers to go. We're scorching."

Braxiatel didn't look impressed but Martha smiled, trying to ease the tension between them when their was a low noise, mixed between a creak and a growl. Martha stiffened before looking at Braxiatel. "What was that?" The noise came again. "It's coming from underneath."

"It does have noise doesn't it? It's like Kate said. The stories are true." Cheen looked frightened, remembering all those horror stories her and her friend Kate used to share about the motorway. Used to scare each other half to death with them back home.

"What stories?" Braxiatel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's the sound of the air vents-" Milo began, trying to reassure her.

Braxiatel shook his head, not having any of it. "Air vents don't creak and growl. Trust me, I have extremely good hearing." He looked at Milo before indicating towards the window. "Besides, looks to me as though the air vents haven't been working for a very long time now mmm? Why? Why have the air vents stopped working? More importantly, why aren't there any police or ambulances about? There should have been one by now."

Milo and Cheen glanced at each other nervously and Milo shifted in his seat, looking uneasy as the sound kept getting louder and louder before they heard growling and crashing. Martha looked at Braxiatel, terrified. "So if it's not air vents, what is it?"

"I'm having a feeling something very large and not friendly." Braxiatel replied, listening again to the sounds.

Milo gulped, wanting to change topics. Everybody hated to talk about what was below them and why the air vents weren't working."Nah. Kid stuff." He held up the transmitter, wanting to get off topic and Braxiatel and Martha shared a glance at each other, wondering why they didn't want to speak about it. "Car Four Six Five Diamond Six, on descent."

* * *

"I need to go to the fast lane. Could you take me down? To rescue my friends?" Romana asked Brannigan desperately.

Brannigan shook his head, not liking the idea. "Not in a million years."

"You have three passengers! You are allowed to go down there!" Romana retorted, indicating between the three of them.

"I'm still not going." Brannigan replied, thinking of his children.

"Please Brannigan. Braxiatel and I are the only ones left of our species. If I lose him now, it will be my fault and I will blame myself for entirety if anything happened to him. My entire planet and race have long since been gone and I've only just found Braxiatel and he died saving me before and I won't let me him die again for me." Romana pleaded, trying to make him see reason. "And Martha, Martha Jones. She doesn't belong on this planet or time and I haven't told her what truly happened to our people. Please, I'm begging you."

Valerie shook her head. "That's no. Even if you are the last of your kind Romana. I'm not risking the children down there."

Romana frowned. "Why? What secrets are down there? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"We're not discussing it! The conversation is closed!" Valerie snapped, looking away from Romana. Not wanting to talk about what was below. Nobody talked about it. Nobody wanted too but it was all there in front of their eyes.

Romana looked on ahead. "So we keep on driving."

Brannigan nodded. "Yes we do."

"For how long?!" Romana snapped.

"'Till the journey's end." Brannigan replied stiffly.

At this, Romana had enough and she reached over Brannigan and snatched up the vocal transmitter. "Mrs. Cassini, this is Romanadvoratrelundar. Tell me, how long have you been driving on the motorway?"

"Oh we were amongst the first. It's been twenty-three years now." Alice replied proudly.

"Tell me Alice, in all those years since you have been driving, have you ever seen a police car?" Romana asked and Valerie and Brannigan looked at her, disquieted that she brought this topic to light.

"I'm not sure." May muttered uneasily, not liking where the topic was heading.

"Look are your notes May. Have you seen any police cars? Or any ambulances? Rescue services? Anything official? _Ever?" _Romana stressed out.

"I can't keep note of everything." May replied, sounding very upset.

"Think of this possibility. What if there is no one out there mmm?" Romana asked, looking between Brannigan and his wife.

Brannigan reached up and angrily took the transmitter away from Romana. "Stop it! The Cassinis were doing you a favour."

Romana looked pointedly at him. "Somebody has to ask these questions and in my case, it's me. Because even though you might not want to talk about the subject, it's there. It's hidden in your eyes." Romana looked at them and she could see it clearly in her eyes, knowing she was right. "What if the traffic jam never stops?"

"There's a whole city above us. The mighty city-state of New New York. They wouldn't just leave us." Brannigan told her desperately.

Romana tried not to flinch, remembering how her people begged not to let her leave them. Not to leave them in the hands of Rassilon and the Daleks. Wanting her to guide them through the darkness. "Then tell me Brannigan, where are the officials? You can see it for yourself out there, the motorway is gridlocked. Literally. All these cars, joining the motorway, none of them moving. What if, with just this motorway, all the cars are just going round and round and round, never stopping? And they keep on going and going, _forever?" _

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Valerie cried, sounding very upset and she looked away at Romana, knowing she was speaking the truth when the screen in front of the car blared into life and it's news starting up.

The hologram of a women on the screen looked at them. "This is Sally Calypso, and it's that time again. The sun is blazing high in the sky over the New Atlantic, the perfect setting for the daily contemplation."

Brannigan looked at Romana sadly. "You think you know us so well, Romana. But we're not abandoned. Not while we have each other." Valerie smiled brightly at this comment.

"This is for all of you out there on the roads. We're so sorry. Drive safe." The hologram disappeared before a gentle tune began to play and all the cars began to sing.

"_On a hill, far away, stood an old rugged cross. The emblem of suffering and shame and I love that old cross. Where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners were slain. So I'll cherish the old, rugged cross, rugged cross. Till my trophies at least I lay down, I lay down. I will cling to the old, rugged cross, rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown." _Valerie had tears in her eyes as she sung the hymn and Romana gently sung along too, knowing the hymn and Romana mind drifted over to Braxiatel. Desperately hoping he was okay.

* * *

Braxiatel and Martha listened to the hymn being sung and Braxiatel's thoughts drifted to Romana, wanting to be near her side again, his hearts clenching at the thought and Martha and Cheen had tears in their eyes as they sung the gentle hymn.

The hymn ended and the monitor bleeped. "Fast lane access, please drive safely."

Milo glanced at them, wiping away his own tears. The only one who wasn't crying was Braxiatel. "We made it. The fast lane." Cheen grinned, breathless and Milo drove their car out of the long lane of traffic and descended into the empty smoke.

* * *

Romana sighed, now knowing she had to make her own way down. "If you won't take me, I'm going to make my own way to Braxiatel. Nothing going to stop me from saving him." She scrambled to the middle of the car and pulled out her sonic screwdriver and inspected the floor.

Brannigan and Valerie turned around, shocked. "What do you think you're doing?" Brannigan demanded.

"I am not about to be made last of my kind again," Romana told them. "That happened once before and I won't allow it to happen again. I'm making my own way home."

"Capsule open." The electronic voice spoke as Valerie and Brannigan looked on in horror as Romana opened a door in the floor of the car, revealing hundreds of cars below them. One pulled up right underneath the opening and Romana took off her long black mauve coat, leaving herself in her blue jumper, jeans and combat boots and handed her coat to Valerie. "Look after that coat. It's one of my favourite coats."

"But you can't jump!" Valerie called to her desperately, actually terrified of what Romana was about to do.

"If it's any consolation, Valerie, right now, _I'm _having kittens." Romana joked lightly, looking down at how far the car below them was.

"May I ask, what species are you Romana?" Brannigan asked. "You talk about being the last of your kind with this Braxiatel but you never mentioned your species."

"I'm a Time-Lady and he's a Time-Lord." Romana replied and she didn't seem surprised by their blank faces. "I wouldn't have expected you to have heard of us."

Brannigan nodded. He hadn't. He had never heard of them. But now he had and he was glad he had met the last surviving Time-Lady in existence."Also, this Braxiatel and Martha. They must mean an awful lot to you."

"To be fair, we hardly knew Martha. Too busy showing off we are, wanting to remember our own people the way they were before the war. We lied to her and I need to apologize to her." Romana replied before grinning. "Goodbye then!" She jumped down, landing on top of the next car and began coughing from the fumes.

Valerie peered over her seat, clinging to Romana's coat. "She's completely insane!"

Brannigan looked through the hole. "That, and a bit magnificent!" He looked back at his wife, frowning."But what did she mean by war?"


	12. Gridlock: You Are Not Alone

Romana drew the sonic screwdriver across the top of the car she had just landed on, opening it's top door. She dropped onto the car, finding a man dressed all in white. "Capsule open."

The man eyed her, not sure if he could trust her."Who the hell are you?"

Romana looked up. "Sorry, motorway foot patrol. I'm doing a survey. Are you enjoying the motorway?" She turned to the floor, opening the bottom door.

"Well, not very much. Junction Five's been closed for three years!" The man replied, irritatedly.

"Thank you. Your comments have been noted. Have a nice day!" She leapt through the bottom of that car before continuing down into the next one, coughing as the fumes began to intense. She looked up to see two very startled asian girls in the front. "Thank you for your cooperation." Romana spoke before she spotted a blue handkerchief on the bed and she started to tie it over her mouth to stop herself from coughing. "Mind if I borrow this? Love TARDIS blue colour." She went down again into the car below to see two very naked drivers who looked at her in utter shock.

"Sorry!" Romana cried in disgust and she went down into the next car which was all lit in red with a very large man in front and Romana gave him a quick salute before jumping into the car below. She will save Braxiatel and Martha. No matter what.

* * *

Back in Braxiatel's car, all four passengers looked dejectedly at the screen. A sidebar bar read _Brooklyn Junction _and below it three choices reading Exit 1,2 and 3.

"Try again." Cheen told Milo desperately and Milo tapped exit 1 but at the bottom of the screen, a large red message indicated saying that the junction was closed, just like all the others.

"Brooklyn Turnoff One closed." Cheen lets out an anguished moan.

"Try the next one." Cheen cried again but Braxiatel stopped Milo from pressing it.

"No. It's the same as all the rest. All the junctions have been closed and you know why?" He asked and they all looked up at him fearfully. "Because there are no authorities out there. Face it. Nobody is there to save you all. Everyone has gone to the motorway, nobody is here to rescue us. The motorway is completely gridlocked."

"But it can't be!" Milo cried desperately, not liking the idea of having his son grow up on the motorway."There has to be someone to help us!"

"Then why haven't you seen any police or ambulances mmm? I wouldn't be surprised if any of these other cars haven't seen them either."

Milo knew he was right. Nobody liked to talk about the police or other authorities. They never came to help. "What do we do?" He asked desperately and they heard the rumbling noise sound again and the humans looked at Braxiatel with panic in their eyes.

"That's definitely not air vents." Martha nodded to herself.

"But it has to be." Milo protested.

"Oh, listen to yourself!" Braxiatel snapped. "You're talking childish nonsense. This is reality. The air vents are broken. You can see it for yourself out there. Here, let me drive." Braxiatel indicated for Milo too move and Milo, too scared to do anything obeyed and moved to where Braxiatel was standing moments before. "Now, hush all of you. I need to listen." They all became quiet and listened to the noise outside and Braxiatel looked at Martha. "It's alive. I can hear it."

Suddenly, their transmitter bleeped. "Calling Car four six five diamond six. Repeat, calling four six five diamond six."

Braxiatel picked up the transmitter. "This is car four six five diamond six. Who are you?"

"I'm in the fast lane, about fifty yards behind. Can you get back up? Get off the fast lane?" The woman replied.

Before Milo could snatch the transmitter back from Braxiatel, Braxiatel gave him a warning look. "Yes we can. Listen to me, you need to drive up. All the junctions are closed. You have to go straight back up."

"We know, we checked for ourselves." The woman replied and Cheen claps her hand over her mouth, in more distressed than ever and she let out a frightened gasp and Milo moved to comfort her. "We can try but there's something else in the fog, Can't you hear it?"

"Obviously. I need you to drive up! Ignore what the authorities would say. You have to drive up for your own safety. Is that understood?" Braxiatel asked, looking concerned before they heard a terrifying scream and a loud smash coming from the other end of the line.

"I can't move! They've got us!" The woman cried.

"Drive up!" Braxiatel encouraged. "Drive up! You have to drive up." But it was too late. The woman yelled something unintelligible and they heard the car beginning to collapse and heard the woman and the two young girls screaming in agony. "Hello? Hello? Can you report? Drive up!"

"We can't! You have to drive up yourself!" The woman replied before she screamed and the line went static.

"What's out there?" Cheen sobbed. "What is it?"

"Something big and dangerous." Braxiatel replied, starting to pick up speed. "Hold on tight everyone, this is going to be a bumpy ride."

* * *

A businessman in a pinstriped suit leaned against his steering wheel was staring out at the gridlock and looking extremely bored. He just wanted this never-ending motorway to end.

"Capsule open." He turned around, startled to see a beautiful young woman in nothing more than a blue jumper standing there, and jeans coughing badly. Her black hair pulled back into a tight bun and he was surprised at the fact of her hair not being ruined by the exhaust fumes outside. He frowned, looking at her. "'Scuse me, is that legal?" He asked, looking in awe at her beauty.

Romana coughed harshly, taking off her handkerchief. "Sorry. Motorway foot patrol." She was coughing too hard to finish off her sentence. "Oh, damn it all. Please may I have some water?"

"Certainly. Never let it be said I've lost my manners." He reached over to a water cooler, filling a cone-shaped clear plastic cup and handed it to Romana who drained it immediately

"Is this the last layer?" Romana asked weakly.

"Ah, we're right at the bottom. Nothing below us but the fast lane." The man replied.

Romana looked extremely grateful. She didn't fancy climbing any more cars today. "Any chance you can drive down?"

The businessman shook his head. So that's why she was here. "There's only two of us. You need three to go down."

"You can always bend the rules." Romana replied. "I admit, I am the type of person who always tend to stick to the rule book but now and then, you can cheat."

"Well, I'd love to, but it's an automated system. The wheel would lock." He indicated towards his wheel, staring gloomily at it.

"Fair enough. Excuse me for a second," Romana walked over to the door of the bottom of the car and flipped it open.

The businessman looked at her with wide-eyes. "You can't jump. It's a thousand feet down!"

"I'm just having a look. Besides, the universe can't get rid of me that easily." Romana replied and the businessman wondered who would want to get rid of such beauty but decided not to ask as she stared out into the thick, murky fog that was dotted with tiny lights and Romana frowned when she could hear growling and screeching coming from it. It was alive. "What's down there?"

"I try not to think about it." The businessman replied, sinking back into his seat, not wanting to look.

"Why? Why is everyone afraid of what's below?" Romana asked frowning and she waved a hand to sweep away the smoke. "I need to have a clearer view." She got up and walked up to the screen in front of the car and pointed the sonic screwdriver at the display. Her brain rushing with ideas and there was a crazed look in her eyes. "If only the vents here were working. I need something to clear away all the smoke!"

The businessman eyed her nervously as Romana began to play with the wiring of the front of the control with the help of the sonic screwdriver and one of the wires snapped in her fingers. Romana grinned. "Ah-ha! That might shift some fumes a bit. What I wouldn't give for a proper engineer."

Romana and the businessman stared out from the bottom of the car and the business man frowned, trying to see what the shapes were. "What are those shapes?" As soon as he asked, huge snapping claws materialized in the fading smoke and Romana's mouth dropped open in horror,

"They're alive. But that's impossible!" She stared, wide-eyed as she recognized what the shapes were.

"What the hell are they?" The businessman asked and he looked terrified as he could see extremely large crabs underneath his cars and what were once lights were in fact the crabs eyes. He gulped.

"Macra." Romana replied with deadly recognition. "Macra is what they are."

* * *

"I'm driving up!" Braxiatel warned but Milo stopped him.

"You can't! It's against the laws!" Milo cried.

"Do you think now is a good time to think about the law?" Braxiatel snapped. "What's more important, obeying the law or protecting your unborn son?" Milo froze, following where Braxiatel was getting at as Braxiatel drove even faster, feeling the Macra's claws banging against the car.

"Never mind that! Turn everything off!" Martha yelled over the noise, trying to stop the boys from arguing. "Braxiatel, for god's sake, turn everything off! Whatever's out there, maybe they can see us. Maybe it's the engines, the sound or the heat, I don't know! Turn everything off. They might not be able to find us."

"What if you're wrong?" Milo snapped at her, looking angry.

"At this moment in time, Martha Jones has more intelligence than you I'm afraid." Braxiatel retorted. "So if I were you, I would listen to her and this might give us more time to figure out what actually is out there and how to escape it." Without another word, Braxiatel flickered switches at the top of the car on the console and the four of them sat, quietly in the unmoving car, no longer jolting around and no longer screaming.

"They've stopped." Cheen whispered.

Milo nodded. "Yeah, but they're still out there." Braxiatel scrambled out of his front seat and made his way to unlock the door in the bottom of the car quietly and the humans glanced at him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Seeing what's out there." Carefully and without the use of his sonic since it might disturb whatever out there, he unscrewed the door and carefully lifted it up and he coughed slightly before waving off the smoke. "I need to see what we're dealing with." He whispered and he carefully got out his sonic and it gave a gentle bleep and it lit up and the smoke underneath cleared slightly, but not enough to give them away and Braxiatel's eyes widened, realizing what they were. "No." He whispered.

"What? What was it?" Martha made her way over next to him and peered through the gap, her eyes widening. "Oh my god. What are they? They're huge."

"Macra. They're living Macra." He quickly closed the door and locked it tight. He turned to Milo. "How long can we stay like this?"

"Eight minutes, maximum." Milo whispered and Cheen began to cry.

* * *

Romana looked at the business man, both of them still hovering over the door. "The Macra used to be the scourges of this galaxy. They fed off gas, so basically the filthier the gas was, the better it was for them. They used to build small empires using humans as slaves and mining gas for food."

The businessman looked at the Macra in disgust, all ready disliking them greatly. "They don't exactly look like empire-builders to me."

"To be fair, that _was _billions of years ago. They must have devolved down the years and now they're beasts, feeding of the gas from the exhaust fumes from all these cars. But it looks like they are still very hungry and both of my friends are trapped down there." Romana explained when suddenly, there was a clank at the top of the businessman's car and both of them looked up, startled.

The businessman tsked, not looking happy. "Oh, it's like New Times Square in here, for goodness's sake!"

A pair of feet dangled down and a cat nun dropped into the vehicle with them. Romana looked over to the businessman. "It appears to me I have accidently invented a sport! Now that is a first!"

"Romana, you're a hard woman to find. Where's Braxiatel?" The cat asked, gazing around, looking for him.

Before Romana could speak, the businessman pointed at the cat nun gun that was still in her hands. "No guns! I'm not having guns!" He hated guns or any type of violence for the matter. He would not allow weapons in his car thank you very much.

"I like you." Romana grinned at him and the man blushed slightly before she turned to the cat nun. "Braxiatel along with my companion have been car-jacked. It's why I'm down here."

"I only brought this in case of pirates! Romana, you've got to come with me." The cat nun insisted.

Romana frowned, studying her more closely before her eyes widened. "Novice Hame? Is that you?"

"You haven't aged since," Novice Hame smiled sadly. "Time has been less kind to me."

Romana looked at the businessman. "Last time we met the nuns were breeding humans for experimentation." His eyes widened with horror and he stepped back from Novice Hame.

"I've sought forgiveness, Romana, for so many years, under his guidance. And if you come with me, I might finally be able to redeem myself." She begged.

Romana stood her ground. "I'm not going anywhere. Do you know what are under all these cars? Macra! Living Macra underneath this city. Braxiatel and Martha are stuck down there with them! I have to get them back!"

"You've got to come with me, right now!" Novice Hame almost shouted and the businessman watched the two women argue with wide-eyes, unsure what to do.

"Not until I have Braxiatel back." Romana growled. "Or Martha. If anything happens to them, it will be all my fault. We have three passengers now, the sooner we can get Braxiatel, the better."

Novice Hame looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Romana. But the situation is even worse than you can imagine." She took Romana's wrist and presses a button on the grin-lit metal wristband she was wearing. "Transport."

Romana eyes widened. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare!" But it was too late. Romana screamed and both of them vanish in a haze of white light and the businessman looked on in bewilderment. He couldn't help but feel as though he still had a hundred questions left unanswered.

Romana and Novice Hame landed in a large yet unkempt room which was covered in dust and junk and streams of sunlight flooded in irregularly. Romana and Novice Hame picked themselves up off the floor.

Romana straightened her neck. She always hated rough teleports. Back on Gallifrey, teleports were nothing like this. "Urgh, rough teleports. I've been through worse." She cracked her fingers. "But if you've got a teleport, that means you can help me teleport Braxiatel and Martha out and all those other people too."

Novice Hame shook her head. "I only had the power for one trip."

"Then let's go and get some more! Where are we anyway?" Romana snapped, looking around.

"High above, in the over-city."

"Exactly the place where I want to be. Get the Senate of New New York and tell them the once President of Gallifrey would like a word. Don't they realize they have thousands upon thousands of people trapped on the motorway?" She paced up and down.

"But Romana, you're inside the Senate, right now. May the goddess Santori bless them." Novice Hame and Romana looked up and Romana noticed long rows of seats in a vast chamber, each seat containing skeletons that were covered in dust. "They died, Romana. The city died."

"How long has it been like this?" Romana asked quietly, looking at the skeletons.

"Twenty-four years." Novice Hame replied as they walked towards a skeleton that was lying on the ground.

Romana eyed it uneasily, her anger forgotten. "What happened?"

"A new chemical. A new mood. They called it Bliss." She knelt down and reached down and picked up a small, circular token that read the word Bliss. "Everyone tried it. They couldn't stop. A virus mutated inside the compound and became airborne. Everything perished, even the virus in the end. It killed the world in seven minutes flat. There was just enough time to close down the walkways and flyovers, sealing off the under-city. Those people on the motorway aren't lost, Romana. They were saved." They both stood, standing side by side and struck by the urgency of the situation.

"Is everything here run on automatic then?" Romana asked.

"There's not enough power to get them out. We did all we could to stop the system from choking."

Romana frowned. "Who are you working for? And more importantly, how did _you _survive?"

Novice Hame face brightened up from the question, so glad that Romana asked. "He protected me. And he's waited for you, and for Braxiatel for these long years."

"Romana." A low, grumbling telepathic voice spoke not far off. Romana turned and dashed over to the Face of Boe, kneeling in front of it with Novice Hame following her.

"The Face of Boe." Romana greeted. She had not seen her old friend for a long while and she wondered if this was the time where he would reveal his final secret to her and Braxiatel.

"I knew you would come." The Face of Boe told her.

"Back in the old days, I was made his nurse, as penance for my sins." Novice Hame told Romana.

"Oh, dear old friend. What has happened to you?" Romana puts her hand on his glass cage.

"Failing."

"He protected me from the virus by shrouding me in his smoke. But with no one to maintain it, the City's power died. The under-city would have fallen into the sea." Novice Hame continued.

"The Face of Boe saved them." Romana looked at the Face of Boe proudly.

Novice Hame nodded. "The Face of Boe wired himself into the mainframe. He's giving his life force just to keep things running."

"But why didn't you call for help? All those planets there in the sky, why didn't you send a distress signal?"

"The last act of the Senate was to declare New Earth unsafe. The automatic quarantine lasts for one hundred years."

Romana looked back at the Face of Boe, concerned before getting back up and walking over to Novice Hame. "The two silent angels who stayed here all alone for all these years."

Novice Hame looked on sadly. "We had no choice."

Romana reached out for her and touched her shoulder. "There is always a choice. You just have to find the right one."

"Save them, Romana. Save them." The Face of Boe pleaded.

* * *

"The Macra used to build tiny empires, enslaving humans and feeding of dirty gas." Braxiatel explained to them. "But that was billions of years ago. Now they must have evolved and reduced to this."

"They look like giant crabs too me." Martha muttered. "Romana would get us out. She has too."

"If we knew where she was." Braxiatel sighed. "Tried to communicate with her telepathically, but she must be too far away."

Cheen frowned. "We never asked the pair of you. Where's home?"

Braxiatel and Martha shared a secretive look. "We both live entirely different homes yet the only thing common about it is that they're both a very long way."

Martha frowned. "I just followed you and Romana and I don't even know where I am. My mum and dad. If I died here, they'd never know."

"You won't die here Martha." Braxiatel promised. "You won't die, not whilst you are under my watch." Martha looked hopeful.

"So, um, who is she then? This Romana of yours?" Milo asked. They spoke so much of this Romana woman, the women who screamed at them to let them go but never did they ask about her. They must care about each other a great deal.

"Her full name is Romanadvoratrelundar." Braxiatel corrected him. "But you can call her Romana. To some people, she's a complete stranger but to me, she's more than that." He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, a four rhythm beat. The rhythm that both of his hearts make. "So much more and I think, it's about time we've stopped chatting don't you think?"

Martha nodded. "Braxiatel's right because you two haven't seen the things he and Romana can do. Honestly, both of you, trust me. You've got your faith, you've got your songs and your hymns. And I've got Irving Braxiatel and Romanadvoratrelundar." Martha grinned at Braxiatel.

"Right." Milo nodded, he too getting his confidence back and he gripped Cheen's hand.

"Leave me in charge and you just might survive this." Braxiatel nodded. "We're going back online."

He turned the car back on. "Systems back on line." And the lights came on.

"Good luck." Milo told Braxiatel.

Braxiatel glanced at him briefly. "And you." He started the car and the Macra became alive again and began to attack them once more and Braxiatel began to drive upwards, wanting to get as far away from them as possible.

* * *

Romana beamed as she stared onto the screen, seeing the car that Braxiatel and Martha were in lit up. "Car four six five diamond six, it's still registers. That's Braxiatel and Martha, working as a team. I knew Martha was good. Novice Hame, would you mind holding that in place?" She jumped back from the screen and handed her a piece of thick tubling. Novice Hame grabbed it and Romana runs along it's length, jumping over a box of light and buttons. Romana scratched her head. "Take the residual energy, invert it and feed it through the electricity beds."

Novice Hame shook her head. "There isn't enough power."

Romana went up to a far wall with two screens that held a lot of wiring and even more buttons. "Oh trust me Novice Hame, I will give you power! You have me! You just watch me." She turned her head slightly to grin at her. "Hame, I want every switch on that bank going up to maximum!"

Braxiatel drove upwards but they still weren't out of reach for the Macra kept banging into them, making the car spin around furiously and the humans clung onto each other tightly, screaming whilst Braxiatel gritted his teeth, trying to make the car drive faster.

Romana rotated a knob in a console on the floor, aiming her sonic screwdriver at it before banging her fist against the console and getting up.

Novice Hame looked at her, not understanding what she was doing. "What are you doing?"

"This!" Romana flipped a two meter long switch on the floor but all the lights on the console went out and Romana let out an angry roar of frustration, Novice Hame wincing as she roared.

* * *

Braxiatel pressed the clutch down even harder and tried to make the car go faster but one of the Macra trapped them within it's claws and sparks began to fly. Martha and Cheen screamed and Braxiatel gritted his teeth, keeping his bearings in check when another the car flied out again and he flew even further upwards, away from the Macra.

* * *

Romana was kneeling on the floor once more, waving her sonic screwdriver at another set of controls. "The transformers are blocked I'm afraid. The signal can't get through them."

"Romana..." The Face of Boe called.

"I am a little busy at the moment!" Romana yelled.

"I give you my last..." The Face of Boe let out a long, rasping breath and every console switched back on. Everything was working again and everything came back on power and Romana leapt up to her feat, illuminated and she turned sharply on her heels, looking at Hame.

"Novice Hame, look after him! He can not go dying on me yet, he needs to meet Braxiatel new face and he has to see this!" She flickered the huge switch again and Novice Hame was busily turning a wheel next to the Face of Boe. "There we are!"

* * *

Valerie had put Romana's coat underneath the bed and just sat down in her seat once more with all her children in her lap when they heard a loud crack and bang coming up from above. Brannigan frowned, peering through the window. "What in Jehovah was that?"

"It's coming from above!" Valerie cried.

"What is it? What's happening?!" Branngian asked, confused and Valerie hurriedly covered the mewling kittens.

* * *

The businessman jumped when he herd the loud banging noise and he fidgeted at his steering wheel, wondering what could possibly be going on when a sudden rush of light came through, making him squint.

* * *

Brannigan gazed up out of his car, unable to believe his eyes. "By all the cats in the kingdom!" He saw a gap form at the top of the gridlock and he began to laugh like crazy.

"What is it?" Valeria asked, unsure.

* * *

The businessman blinked, now realizing what was going on and he let out a giggle of joy, cheering with happiness as he realized all the doors were open and that they were no longer trapped. "Yes!" He cried with delight and he couldn't help but think that Romana had something to do with it and he knew he wouldn't see her again to thank her. He hoped one day he would.

* * *

Valerie looked up, now no longer afraid. "It's the sun! Oh, Brannigan!" She reached out to him, grasping his hand before she pulled the blanket off her kittens. "Children, it's the sunlight!" Her children purred happily, flooded by the sun when suddenly, Romana's face buzzed into life on the screen, a microphone in her hand.

"Ah, yes. Hello there! I'm sorry to inform you but Sally Calypso was not a real person. She was nothing more than a hologram. My name is Lady Romanadvoratrelundar but you can call me Romana for short and I can assure you, I'm as real as can be." She sent them a smile.

Brannigan stared at the screen, bewildered. "She's a magician." She had to be! She was utterly impossible.

"As once President, I am ordering everyone to drive up. Right now."

Brannigan blinked. "Is she serious?" He asked, wondering if she was making sense. It wouldn't surprise Brannigan if Romana actually was once President of her people. Valerie laughed with disbelief, so happy that they were finally leaving the motorway forever.

"I've opened the roof of the motorway for you all. I want everyone to throttle those rusty engines and drive up. My orders now. All of you, the whole under-city. Drive up! Drive up, I said! Haha!"

"Here we go." Brannigan grinned at his wife before doing as he was told, all the other cars on the motorway doing the same.

"We need to clear that fast lane as quickly as possible. Drive up and get out of the way."

* * *

Suddenly, the screen in Milo's car turned on and Romana face appeared and Braxiatel let out a cry of joy, heading straight towards the light. "Romana!" He cried happily as he drove. He was just so happy to see her again and he drove as fast as this car would allow him, going up and up and up.

"Hey! Car Four Six Five Diamond Six! Irving Braxiatel and Martha Jones! I hope you're receiving this. I want you both back in one piece!" Romana smirked. "Now drive up!"

Cheen, Martha and Milo gazed up up as the sunlight hit their face, Martha beside her self with joy.

"It's daylight! Oh my god. That's the sky, the real sky!" Cheen cried, unable to believe it.

Braxiatel laughed. "That's my lady Romanadvoratrelundar for you! She saved you! She saved you all!"

Martha screamed with laughter. "She did it! I told you, she did it!" She clapped excitedly, giving Cheen and Milo a hug.

* * *

Romana held a microphone, watching all the cars coming into the city from a viewscreen in the senate room with Novice Hame twirling a wheel next to the Face of Boe when Brannigan called her.

"Did I tell you, Romana? You're not bad my lady! You're not bad at all!" Brannigan cried with joy.

Romana heard them laugh and she couldn't help but smile with joy. "Just keep driving Brannigan because it's all waiting for you and your family. The city of New New York is all yours." She glanced out of the window and she couldn't help but appreciate it's beauty for that brief moment. It was truly gorgeous. Everywhere were cars rising out of the under-city and flying around abandoned skyscrapers with the sun setting. In a way, it almost reminded her of home. "And I would very much like my coat back if that's all right."

"I reckon that's a fair bargain my lady!" Branngian replied.

Romana switched over the transmitter. "Car Four Six Five Diamond Six, I've sent you a flight path. Come to the Senate."

"I'm on my way, my lady." Braxiatel called and Romana beamed, so pleased to hear his voice once more. "I think I should run a taxi service now with the way I'm at it. Braxiatel Taxi service. What do you think?"

Martha laughed over the communicator. "You wouldn't last a fortnight!"

"Ah! Martha! It's been quite a while since I've seen you." Romana grinned.

"Romana!" Novice Hame cried and Romana turned to see Novice Hame leaning desperately over the Face of Boe as the Face enclosed him begin to crack and Romana's face fell, her hearts breaking at the sight.

After saying farewell to Milo and Cheen, Braxiatel immediately ran off to the Senate room, Martha following closely behind. Both eager to see Romana once more. "Romana?" Braxiatel shouted, following Romana's sense.

"_Through here." _Braxiatel heard Romana reply in his mind and he dashed off through the door, Martha a bit subdued by the skeleton lying on the floor in front of her and she looked at it sadly before following after Braxiatel.

"What happened out there?" She asked, only to find both Time-Lord's kneeling with Novice Hame in front of the dying Face of Boe and she frowned. "What's that?"

"An old friend of ours. The Face of Boe. It's perfectly all right. Come and say hello and this is Novice Hame." Romana indicated towards Novice Hame. "The Face of Boe is the one that saved you all, not me."

"My lord gave his life to save the city." Novice Hame told them sadly and Martha knelt next to her, reverent. "And now he's dying."

"It's good to breathe the air once more." The Face of Boe commented.

"Who is he?" Martha asked.

"There has been little known about him." Braxiatel commented, looking at the Face of Boe."Not even in my Braxiatel Collection has there been much about the Face of Boe or his kind. Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. You are not about to give up now."

"Everything has its time. You and Romana both know that, old friends. Better than most."

Novice Hame looked up at the Time-Lord's. "The legend says more."

Romana frowned, recalling Novice Hame last visit. When she said the Face of Boe would give them both a secret. "It's about the secret isn't it?" Romana asked quietly.

Novice Hame nodded. "It is said that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a couple without a home."

"Who needs secrets?" Braxiatel gave a coy smile.

"I have seen so much. Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind, as you two are the last of yours. Romana, Braxiatel." The Face of Boe told them.

Romana and Braxiatel looked at each other desperately, both wanting yet not wanting to know what this great big secret was and Romana felt her eyes watering slightly. "That's why we all have to survive. The three of us. Please don't go."

"I must. But know this, Time-Lady and Time-Lord. You are not alone." Romana looked like she was about to weep but she was too astounded and she stared at Braxiatel, her tears welling up. Romana leant into Braxiatel's side and Braxiatel wrapped his arms around her as she silently wept. Novice Hame began to sob and Martha looked on with respect before standing. Braxiatel gently kissed the top of Romana's hair, both of their minds racing with what the Face of Boe said. Did that mean there was more of their kind out there? Did that mean there were other Time-Lord survivors? Was it possible that they weren't the only survivors of the Time War?

Romana sniffed and wiped away her tears and Braxiatel stood up before helping Romana stand and puts his arm around her shoulders, saying goodbye to the Face of Boe.

* * *

The three of them made it back in the alleyway, the same alleyway where they met the pharmacist and noticed it all deserted and closed down. Romana sniffed. "I'm glad they took my orders seriously enough."

"Happy?" Martha suggested, walking behind them.

"Happy happy." Romana replied and Martha laughed softly.

Braxiatel gazed up at the sky. "New New York can start again with Novice Hame in charge." He gazed at Martha, giving her a pointedly look. "And I think it's about time we owe someone an apology."

Romana nodded and Martha frowned. "Who?" Martha asked, not understanding what Braxiatel meant.

"You." Romana replied and she grabbed the three of them each a chair and they all sat down. "We owe you an apology."

"But why? What for?" Martha frowned, glancing between them both as she sat in front of them both. "And what did the Face of Boe meant? You are not alone? You've got each other haven't you? And last of your kind, what did you mean by that?"

As Romana was about to reply but the hymn that everyone was singing before started again and Romana sought Braxiatel's hand and he squeezed it gently, not letting go. Both of them finding the topic very difficult to talk about. Romana sighed before looking at Martha. "We lied to you, just for a short brief moment. We lied because that way, we could pretend that our people were still alive and all those children singing and dancing underneath the burnt orange sky were still singing and dancing." Martha looked shocked, sad for both of them. "The way we wanted to remember them before the war."

Braxiatel looked at Martha, not letting go of Romana's hands. "We're not just a Time-Lord and Time-Lady. We're the last of the Time Lords and the Face of Boe message may have just given us hope that another one of our kind may still be alive."

"What happened?" Martha asked, the hymn still going on loudly in the background.

"There was a war. A Time War." Romana began. "I started the Time War when I was President. I led my people to fight against a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. Nobody won." She let out a bitter laugh. "Everyone's gone now Martha. All our friends, my K9, my huntress and close friend Leela. My family."

"My family too." Braxiatel nodded. "I lost my brother, the Doctor, in the war. We lost everyone Martha. Even all the children of Gallifrey. We lost our home."

Romana gazed at Braxiatel for a moment before looking at Martha who looked at them with sorrow, understanding that this topic must be hard for them but she was grateful for the fact they were trusting her with this information of their home planet. "I wish you could our planet. It was so beautiful Martha. So beautiful." She smiled as though remembering and Braxiatel closed his eyes, lost in memory. "Our planet had two suns. The second sun would rise in the south and the mountains would shine so brightly. The leaves on the trees were silver and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When autumn came, the breeze would blow through like branches on a song..."

Romana knew that Gallifrey was gone forever. But she knew in her hearts that it would live on and if that meant living on in stories and legends, so be it for what better way was there?


	13. Daleks in Manhattan: Hooverville Mystery

"You are not alone." Romana repeated once more. Ever since they left New New York, that has all she has been saying, repeating what the Face of Boe said and she looked over at Braxiatel and Martha who were watching her with concern. "You are not alone. Braxiatel, what if some of the Time-Lord's have escaped the Time-Lock that I have created? What if the Doctor has actually survived?" She paused, her eyes widening with fear. "Or what if Rassilon has escaped and he knows that I am alive and-"

"Romana!" Braxiatel called in his soothing tone, trying to calm her down and Romana stopped and looked at him. "Romana, calm down for Gallifrey's sake." He rested a hand on her shoulder and looked at her. This wasn't like Romana to get all worked up! Romana was strong and confident and always knew what she was doing. "If Rassilon has escaped the Time-Lock we will be prepared for him. You've defeated him once before and you can defeat him again."

"But what if I can't Braxiatel?" Romana asked. "What if he has escaped from the Time-Lock, leading all those on his side to hunt us through out time and space until we're dead at his feet!"

"Romana," Martha interrupted gently. Romana and Braxiatel had told her everything about the Time War. From beginning to end. Including all about the civil wars, the dogma virus, Arkadian and Rassilon himself. It truly was a terrible war by the sound of it. But the outcome of the war was even worse. She couldn't imagine what Romana had to go through to destroy her home planet for the sake of all creation. "But that's the point. It's a _what if_ situation. Rassilon himself might never have escaped! And look on the bright side, it might be one of the good Time-Lord's that have escaped instead! Not one of the bad ones." She sent Romana a comforting smile. "It's time you took us on another trip! Get your mind off it for a little while."

Romana nodded, knowing she was right. Since when did she become like this? Even if Rassilon did escape from the Time-Lock, how? How would he have done it? Not only that, she knew that she would defeat Rassilon. She would not let him live and cause chaos across the universe. She will not allow that to happen. Never.

Romana and Braxiatel gently landed the TARDIS and Martha was more than glad that the two of them were excellent pilots. She didn't think she'll be able to cope if the TARDIS kept landing with a bump and she smiled at the Time-Lord's. "So, come on then!" She grinned and she ran outside and through the TARDIS doors. "Where are we?" She asked as she looked around her and she heard the waves crashing against the shores.

The Time-Lord's stepped out soon after her, Braxiatel shoving his hands in his pockets as Romana stepped beside Martha. "The Atlantic breeze. Bit primitive. I went on board the Titanic once and got sunk in the middle of the ocean. I was absolutely frozen to the bone I was! I had to stay in bed for a few days after that." Martha laughed at the comment and Romana turned around to see where they were. "Now Martha, have you met our dear friend?" They looked up to see the Statue of Liberty.

Martha's eyes widened with happiness, not believing her eyes. "Is that-? Oh my god! That's the Statue of Liberty." She looked at Braxiatel. "Let me guess, did you store her in your Collection too?"

Braxiatel chuckled. He had told Martha all about his Braxiatel collection from start until finish. He had even told her about his own Cyberman army and at first, she had been horrified at the idea and wouldn't even look at him after that but she forgiven him in the end. "Oh yes. She was very popular too if I remember correctly." They began to walk along the edge of the Island with the view of Manhattan skyline in front of them before he looked at Romana. "I'm just thankful it's not the Weeping Angels of Old."

Romana didn't look amused. "Now don't be saying that otherwise we might bump into the Weeping Angels. I don't really fancy meeting one at this point in time either."

Martha shook her head, not understanding a word what they were saying. "I wonder what year it is 'cause look, the Empire State building not even finished yet." She pointed to the unfinished building which they could see in the distance.

Braxiatel licked his index finger and pointed it in the air, Romana and Martha watching him. "November 1st, 1930." He commented. "Nowhere near finished."

Martha picked up a nearby newspaper on a park bench that she spotted as they walked. "So that's eighty years ago from my time." Martha grinned as Braxiatel took the newspaper off her, reading it. "It's funny 'cause you see all those old newspapers in black and white like it's so far away, but here we are. It's real. It's now." She laughed before she gently nudged Romana. "Come on the pair of you. Where do we go first?"

Braxiatel frowned and pointed her the headlines of the newspaper, showing both ladies. "I'm afraid our detour just got longer." He was definitely taking after his brother and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad thing. Was it always like this with for his brother?

"_Hooverville Mystery Deepens'. _What's Hooverville?" Martha asked, reading off the headline.

Romana frowned at her. "What do they teach you in Earth schools these days? Seriously?" She shook her head. "They're named after Herbert Hoover who was the 31st President of the USA. Lovely man, could be cheeky with the women when he wanted to be. He came to power a year ago then the Wall Street Crash happened."

Martha frowned, remembering something in her old history textbooks. "The Wall Street Crash yeah? Didn't that happen in 1929?"

Braxiatel nodded. "Yes. America's economy got wiped out over night. Imagine thousands of people unemployed with nowhere to go. So, they ended up here in Central Park." He pointed to the Hooverville that they were heading into.

Martha peered at it, surprised. "What? They actually live in the park? In the middle of the city?"

Romana shrugged. "There are places like this all over America Martha. You only come to Hooverville when there's nowhere to go." They were walking into the park when suddenly they saw two men fighting in the middle of the park, causing a scene.

"You thievin lowlife!" One man shouted and began to punch the other man but two men held each of them back.

"I didn't touch it!" The other man cried and before a man could step out between who came out from his tent, Romana walked in between both men and stopped the fight, looking at them both sternly and they both stopped, looking at her.

"That's enough!" Romana cried and she roughly pushed the two men apart, the whole Hooverville watching her with wide eyes. "You are men! Not wild animals. Right now, being men is all you have left." She looked at the man who claimed he didn't touch it and she knew that the man had stolen food from the other man. "Now, let's behave shall we? Did you take it?"

The man looked at her, his clothes dirty and raggedy. "I don't know what happened ma'am. He just went crazy."

The other man lunged at him but his friends held him back. Romana gave him a serious and pointed look before straightening her shoulders, her president instincts kicking in. "I do not appreciate it when I am being lied too." She told him in a deadly tone. "Nobody around here likes being lied too and I bet you do not either. So, if I were you, I would think carefully before lying too me. Now, did you take it?"

All the other residents of Hooverville had now wandered over to see what was going on. All staring with wide eyes and shocked to see a women stopping the fight. The man looked pleadingly at Romana. "I'm starvin' ma'am."

Romana looked at him sincerely. "I know. You are all starving." She put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "This will not last forever but you have to trust me. You can not go and steal from your own kind. It's wrong. He is your neighbour and you have to look out for each other." She held out her hand and the man looked at her in the eyes before looking at Romana's hand before reaching under his coat and pulled out the bread and handed it too her. Romana indicated for both men to come near her. "You are all starving and I'm sorry." She broke the bread in half. "You have all got your own families to look after." She handed each man a half each. "These are very dark times for you all but you can't make it worse for each other. In Hooverville, there has got to be no more stealing and no more fighting. A long time ago I fought in a terrible war and the only reason I survived was because I had to work in a team." She cast a glance at Braxiatel who looked proudly at her before she looked back at the humans. "Things may look bad but no matter how bad things are getting, you have to act like men. To remind yourself who you are. It's all you got left."

The men nodded their thanks at Romana before walking away and the crowd around them began to mutter about what happened before Braxiatel embraced Romana. "You are amazing." He whispered to her, for once not caring what others would think.

"Well this is new." She beamed, embracing him back. "I think I should do this more often."

Martha laughed before the man who had emerged from the tent cleared his throat and Braxiatel and Romana broke their embrace and looked at him. "Can we help you?"

"Come into my tent for a second," He indicated them to come in and they obeyed, realizing he was in charge of the place. "I'm Solomon, I run the place."

"I'm Romanadvoratrelundar." Romana smiled, shaking his hand and the man blinked. "You can call me Romana."

"I'm Irving Braxiatel." Braxiatel gave him a curt nod. "But please, call me Braxiatel."

"And I'm Martha. Martha Jones." Martha waved.

Romana looked at Solomon. "You said you run this place?"

Solomon nodded. "Uh-uh." He warmed his hands over a fire. "You did a brave thing back there. Not many people would do something like that, even from an upper class."

"Oh we're just travellers really." Braxiatel replied but Solomon didn't look convinced as he eyed their clothes, sensing that they were rich. They certainly did not look like travellers to him and not only that, their names sound like they belong to a high estate family.

Martha looked at Solomon. "How many people live here?"

"At one time, hundreds. No place else to go. But I will say this about Hooverville. We are a truly equal society, black, white, all the same. All starving." Solomon laughed bitterly. "So you're welcome. The three of you. But tell me, Romana. You said you were a soldier right?" He eyed her and Romana nodded. "So was I. Like you, I survived the war because I had to work within a team. Explain this to me fellow soldier," He pointed to the unfinished Empire State building and they all stared. "That's there's going to be the tallest building in the world. How come they can do that and we got people starving in the heart of Manhattan?"

Romana and Braxiatel shared a glance with each other, both knowing the answer to the question but decided not to say it out loud as Solomon threw some coffee dregs onto the fire and Braxiatel held up the newspaper he had found earlier. "We haven't come to stop fights," He began. "We've come for this. Men going missing. Is this true?" He pointed towards the headline.

Solomon took the newspaper and nodded. "It's true all right." He went back inside his tent and sat down.

Romana frowned. "But there are different definitions of missing, especially in Hooverville. Men come and go here all the time, nobody keeps a tab on them do they?"

Solomon shook his head. "This is different."

"In what way?" Martha asked. She couldn't see how it was different.

Solomon looked at them, a serious expression on their faces. "Someone takes them. At night. We hear something. Someone calls out for help. By the time we get there, they're gone. Like they vanish into thin air."

"And are you sure that someone is taking them?" Braxiatel asked, looking thoughtful.

"Braxiatel, when you got next to nothing, you hold on to the little you got." Romana and Braxiatel shared a glance at each other and looked at each other solemnly, knowing it was all true and Martha saw them and looked at them both sadly. "Your knife, blanket, you take it with you. You don't leave bread uneaten, fire still burning."

"Have you been to the police?" Martha questioned.

Solomon shrugged. The police didn't care for the people of Hooverville. They never did. They only cared about themselves and stopping people from hurting what remained of the rich. "Yeah, we tried that. Another deadbeat goes missing, big deal."

"Well then its a good job we have arrived," Romana told him seriously. "We're going to help you find these missing men and we will put a stop to this. You can have my word, Solomon." Once she made a promise, Romana always kept her word.

A young man stuck his head inside the tent and looked at Romana briefly before looking at Solomon. "Solomon, Mr. Diagoras is here." They walked outside and saw a man in a smartly dressed business suit and they realized this was Diagoras and was standing on top of some boxes, talking to the whole of Hooverville.

"I need men. Volunteers. I got little work for you and you sure look like you can use the money." Diagoras told them, making himself be heard.

The young man who entered the tent looked at him. "Yeah, what is the money?"

"A dollar a day." Diagoras replied and the men grumbled, some scoffing at the idea.

"What's the work?" Solomon asked.

"A little trip down the sewers. Got a tunnel that collapsed needs clearing and fixing. Any takers?" Diagoras looked around.

Solomon scoffed. "A dollar a day? That's slave wage. Men don't always come back up do they?"

Diagoras shrugged and looked uncaring "Accidents happen."

"What sort of accidents?" Romana asked, cocking her head to the side and looking at him. She couldn't help but feel as though Diagoras was giving off a bad vibe. He may be powerful amongst the humans but he certainly wasn't a match for Romana.

Diagoras looked at her, startled that she was asking but purposefully ignored her question. "You don't need the work? That's fine. Anybody else?" Romana raised her hand once more. "Enough with the questions."

"Oh, no. I'm volunteering." Romana replied cheerily.

Diagoras scoffed at her. "No women are allowed to go down the sewers."

Romana let out a bitter laugh, causing the humans to look at her startled. "Believe me, I have been in worse places than being down in the sewers. Places that would have sent men running and screaming with their tails between their legs! And you're calling me a woman? Is that meant to insult me? If you were any closer to me, I'd have the right mind to throw you in the sewers myself." The crowd laughed joyfully as Diagoras looked uncomfortable at Romana's statement and Braxiatel smirked before he too raised his hands. "I'm volunteering whether you like it or not."

"Same here." Braxiatel waved his hand before looking at Martha pointedly.

Martha slowly raised her hands and looked at the two Time-Lord's, grumbling. "I'll kill you both for this." She grumbled as Solomon and his friend raised their hands as well, admiring Romana's courage.

* * *

A little while later, they all found themselves in the sewers, Diagoras explaining where they were meant to be heading. "Turn left. Go about half a mile. Follow tunnel 273. Fall's right ahead of you. You can't miss it."

Romana looked at him closely. "Looks to me as if you know these areas pretty well. Why can't you do the work yourself?"

Diagoras glared at her. "All these questions young lady-"

Romana gave him a cold glare. "You have no right to call me a lady. Romanadvoratrelundar will do thank you."

"Romanadvoratrelundar then!" Diagoras snapped and Solomon and his friend shared a look. "I am too busy working on the Empire State building. I have other work that needs to be done. And besides, I don't like getting my hands dirty." Romana gave him a pointed look.

"When do we get our dollar?" Solomon's friend asked.

"When you come back up." Diagoras replied, a bit too quickly for Braxiatel's liking.

"And if we don't come back up?" Braxiatel raised an eyebrow at him, all ready knowing the answer.

"Then I got no one to pay." Diagoras clapped his hands.

Solomon gave him a serious look. "We'll be back."

Martha nodded. "Let's hope so." The others started to head down towards the tunnel and Romana stared at Diagoras coldly before turning and joining the others, Braxiatel and Romana in front and leading the way.

The young man shivered. "We just gotta stick together. It's easy to get lost. It's like a huge rabbit warren. You could hide an army down here." Romana stiffened at the comment, remembering all too well of the Time-War and Braxiatel put his hand on her shoulder, telling her it was all right.

Martha looked at him. "So, what about you Frank?" Frank had introduced himself to her whilst Romana and Braxiatel were too busy glaring at Diagoras. "You're not from around these parts are you?"

Frank looked at her and the Time-Lord's. "Oh, you could talk. No, no. I'm from Tenessee, born and bred." He smiled proudly. He was proud to be from Tenesse even if his accent does stick out like a sore thumb in New York. It was all he had left from his home place. He missed his home truth to be told but he had a new family here in New York.

"So how come you're here?"

Frank looked down, unable to meet her eyes. "Um, my daddy died. Mama...couldn't afford to feed us all. So, I'm the oldest, up to me to feed myself, so put my coat, hitched up here on the railroads. There's a whole lot of runaways in camp younger than me. From all over; Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas...Solomon keeps a lookout for us. So, what about you? You're a long way from home."

Martha shrugged. "Yeah, I'm just a hitcher too." And it was true. She basically hitched-hike with Braxiatel and Romana, travelling through the universe and helping people. She couldn't ask for a better way of life. She just hoped she would survive long enough to pass her medical exams and become an actual Doctor.

Frank smiled at her kindly. "You stick with me, you'll be all right."

Romana looked over at Solomon. "So this Diagoras fellow, what do you know about him?"

"A couple of months ago, he was just another foreman. Now it seems like he's running most of Manhattan." Solomon replied.

Braxiatel frowned, looking thoughtful. "How did he manage that in these times? He had to have help surely." How could a man manage that alone in these times? What secrets was Diagoras hiding? And why did he want to send people down into the sewers when the sewers itself looked perfectly fine?

Solomon shrugged. "These are strange times Braxiatel. A man can go from being King of the Hill to the lowest of the low overnight. It's just for some folks it works the other way around."

"Everyone stay back!" Romana warned as her torch landed on a sticky, blob lying on the ground as it gave a green light and everyone stopped in their tracks.

"Is it radioactive or something?" Martha asked as she and Braxiatel came forward. Romana sets down her torch and crouches beside it before she put on some plastic gloves and carefully picked up the slimy blob. Martha grimaced. "And you've got to pick it up. At least you're wearing gloves."

Romana and Braxiatel sniffed it and Braxiatel shone his torch on it. "It looks familiar." Romana murmured. "I've seen something like this before. It's composite organic matter. Martha, Braxiatel? What are your opinions on it?"

Martha grimaced at it. "It's not human, I know that." Solomon and Frank looked puzzled, wondering what was going on.

"That you are right." Braxiatel looked around, shining his torch down the empty corridors. "I'll tell you something though, we must be at least a half a mile in and I do not see any sign of a collapse so my question is, why did Mr Diagoras send us down here?"

Martha frowned. "So where are we now? What's above us?"

Braxiatel looked at her. "We're underneath the city of Manhattan itself."

Romana put the blob in her coat pocket. "I'll study it later. It's very familiar and that is irritating me."

Solomon looked at Braxiatel, trying to ignore the fact that Romana had just stuffed a slimy blob in her coat pocket."It's just like you said, we're beyond half a mile. There's no collapse. Nothin'."

"That Diagoras bloke, was he lying?" Martha asked. She wouldn't be surprised if he was. The tunnels looked completely fine to her.

"I think he's sent us into a trap." Romana muttered uneasily. "This certainly looks like a trap to me. Solomon, I think it's time you took Martha and Frank back up. Braxiatel and I will be much quicker by ourselves." Suddenly they heard squealing echoes in the tunnels and they all pointed their torches towards the sound.

"What the hell was that?" Solomon asked nervously.

"Hello?!" Frank shouted and his voice carried down through the tunnel.

"Ssh!" Martha shushed him.

"Frank!" Solomon snapped, not believing the stupidity of the boy.

Frank looked at them, trying to make them all see reason. "What if it's one of the folk gone missing? You'd be scared, half-mad down here on your own."

"I don't think it's them Frank." Braxiatel commented, listening to the sounds. They didn't sound human that's for sure. "I'm pretty sure you humans don't make sounds like that." Frank and Solomon stared at him and before trying to ignore the comment about '_you humans'_, wondering if it was just Braxiatel's strange talk.

Romana walked a little further ahead of them. "It's as if to me there's more of them than us. Why do I get the feeling we have just walked into a trap?" Romana groaned.

Martha froze. "A trap? Romana, please tell me we just haven't walked straight into a trap."

"It's feels like one." She shook her head before making her way through another tunnel. "This way."

Solomon shone his light down another tunnel. "No, that way." The light of Solomon's torch caught a huddled figure on the ground.

Martha turned to Braxiatel and Romana. "Romana, Braxiatel." The Time-Lord's rejoined them.

"Who are you?" Solomon asked but the figure was unable to reply and Romana couldn't help but feel like there was something off about the figure.

"Are you lost? Can you understand me? I've been thinkin' about folk lost..." Frank started to walk forwards but Braxiatel held him back.

"Just stay back Frank, let myself and Romana handle this." He looked back towards the figure before slowly walking towards it. "He has a very good point however, our new friend Frank. Anybody would hate to be stuck down here on their own." The creature squealed and Braxiatel swore it sounded like a pig's squeal. "We know the way out and where there is plenty of daylight and companionship. You can come with us." He came closer to see a man but yet it wasn't a man, it was half man, half pig and Braxiatel knew this was caused by some horrible experiment. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

Solomon looked at the Time-Lord's, not wanting to be rude. "Is, uh, that some kind of carnival mask?" He asked, not believing his sight.

"It's real." Romana gently stroked the pig-man's head, looking at him sorrowfully. "We're so sorry for what has been done to you. We can help," A shadow fell upon them but Romana ignored them. "Could you tell us who did this to you? We can end this."

"Romana, Braxiatel...I think you two had better get back here." Martha called, fear in her voice as more pig men have filled the opposite end of the tunnel. "Romana! Braxiatel!" Braxiatel quickly helped up Romana and both of them slowly made their way back towards the others. "They're following you."

"We kind of noticed that Martha," Romana replied once they reached them. "Well then comrades, I think this is a perfect time to..."

Martha looked at her. "To what?"

"To run!" Braxiatel finished and he grabbed Romana's hand and they all raced down the tunnel to a cross-section and Martha stopped in confusion, not sure where she was going.

"Where are we going?!" She yelled.

"This way!" Braxiatel yelled as the pig men kept chasing them. Romana let go of Braxiatel's hand and she stopped at a mouth of a joining tunnel.

"Over here! There's a ladder!" Romana and Braxiatel began to climb the ladder and Romana used her sonic screwdriver on the lid. Martha quickly followed and Solomon hesitates when he saw Frank picking up a metal rod to try and hold the pig men off.

"Frank!" Solomon yelled and he quickly climbed up the ladder. Seeing that the other were safe, he quickly started to climb and Braxiatel and Solomon reached down their hands. "C'mon Frank! C'mon!"

"You can make it Frank!" Braxiatel yelled as they grabbed onto Frank tightly but the there were too many pig men and they pulled Frank out of their grasp and down into the sewers.

"No! Frank!" Solomon yelled and Braxiatel quickly closed the lid and soniced it before one of the pig men could climb up. He looked at the Time-Lord's. "Those creatures were from hell! From hell itself!"

"No they weren't," Romana replied seriously. "I've been to Hell and trust me, it's nothing like that."

Solomon looked at her, wondering if she was making it up. How could a woman with her beauty been to hell itself and come out sane? "There's nothing we can do to save Frank. Nothing."

"I wouldn't say that Solomon," Braxiatel replied, straightening his tie. "There is always hope. Believe me."

"All right then. Put 'em up!" A woman shouted and they turned around to see a show-girl pointing a gun at them and Braxiatel raised an eyebrow as did Romana, both knowing this was a fake gun straight away. Martha and Solomon quickly raised their hands, not realizing it was a fake gun. "Hands in the air and no funny business otherwise I'll shoot." She cocked her gun at them and smirked.


	14. Daleks in Manhattan: The New Future

"Now tell me, you schmucks, what've you done with Lazlo?" The show girl asked, still pointing the fake gun at them, not looking very happy.

"Um, who's Lazlo?" Martha asked, blinking. One minute she was being chased by pig men and now she was being held at gun point by none other than a show-girl! She was never going to be stopped by being amazed during her travels with Romana and Braxiatel.

"Lazlo's my boyfriend or was my boyfriend until two weeks ago. No letter, no goodbye no nothin. And I'm not stupid." She waved the gun carelessly as she talked. "I know some guys are just pigs but not my Lazlo. I mean, what kinda guy asks you to meet his mother before he vamooses?"

"And you're holding a fake gun." Romana commented and the show-girl looked at her, surprised that she still hadn't put her hands up. "Myself and Braxiatel know the difference between a real gun and a fake gun thank you very much so you might as well put it away. It's not going to do you any good."

The show girl shrugged. She hated guns anyway and the gun was merely just a prop to get them to talk. "Oh, sure." She tossed her gun to a chair, knowing she had been outsmarted. "It was either that or a spear."

Martha looked at her. "What do you think happened to Lazlo?"

The girl shrugged. "I wish I knew. One minute he's there, the next, zip-vanished."

"What's your name?" Braxiatel asked.

"Tallulah." Tallulah replied quickly, glad someone asked.

"Tallulah. Right." He nodded.

"3 L's and an H."

"We know how to spell your name, we are not gullible." Braxiatel replied. "But we can help you find Lazlo and I'm afraid he's not the only one who has gone missing either. There are people disappearing every night in the city of Manhattan."

Solomon nodded, confirming this. "And there are creatures. Such creatures." He shuddered, glancing back the way they came. He never wished to venture there ever again. He had to warn his people about them and they must be prepared in case they come again.

Tallulah frowned and looked at them uneasily. "Whaddaya mean 'creatures?'"

Romana cringed, trying not to correct the girls grammar. "Right now Tallulah, everyone is in danger and I need to figure out what this is," She removed the green blob from her pocket. "It looks very familiar but once we know what it is, then we can figure out who exactly we are really up against."

Tallulah leaned back, grimacing at the blob. She rather have that blob far away from her as possible thank you very much. She had no desire to touch it and she couldn't understand how this woman, Romana would possibly want to touch it either. "Yech!"

* * *

Romana and Braxiatel were in the props room and Braxiatel was scavenging for pieces of equipment to help Romana identify the blob.

Solomon came in, holding up a radio. "How about this? I found it backstage."

Romana looked up. "That's brilliant thank you. It just has the right capacitors I need." She took the radio off him. "I'm just going to rig up a crude DNA scan for this. If Braxiatel or I can get a chromosomal reading, we can find out where it's from." Braxiatel sat down next to her as Romana used her sonic screwdriver on the radio's insides.

Solomon looked at them, watching them work. "How about you two then? Where are you both from? I've been all over but I've never heard anybody talk like the pair of you." He frowned. "Just exactly who are you two?"

Braxiatel helped Romana take out a piece from the radio and gently blew on it. "We're just travellers, nothing more."

"I'm not a fool Braxiatel." Solomon replied coldly knowing that Braxiatel was thinking him as an idiot. He may be poor and may seem like he don't know nothin', but that wasn't the case. Solomon was smart and he shared a great deal of knowledge about many things and to be treated as though he was an idiot by people from higher classes irritated him.

"No, you're not." Braxiatel nodded in agreement.

Solomon walked over to the sewer lid and looked down at it. "I was so scared. I let them take Frank 'cause I was just too scared. I gotta get back to Hooverville. With these creatures on the loose, we gotta protect ourselves. Ain't no one else gonna help us."

Romana smiled at him sadly, knowing that it will not be any use. "Good luck."

Solomon nodded gravely. "I hope you find what you're looking for. For all our sakes." The Time-Lord's watched him leave.

"What do you think it is?" Braxiatel asked her as they made their way up to the balcony of the theatre with the blob hooked up onto their hand-made scanner and Romana sets the beam from one of the stage lights onto the blob.

"Hopefully not what I think it is." Romana grimaced. She had seen this sort of experimentation before. A long time ago when the Daleks had captured her and they used her as some sort of lab rat and in the labs she was captured in, something similar like this blob was amongst the test tubes. "This is artificial." They heard Tallulah sing below them on stage, the crowd murmuring quietly below.

Braxiatel nodded in agreement. "Genetically engineered."

"Exactly, so this race must be highly advanced." Romana put a stethoscope on the blob and listened carefully before her eyes widened with horror. "No...it can't be."

"Romana, what is it?"

Romana looked at him, a look of disbelief on her face. "Name the planet of the only fundamental DNA type of 989."

"Skaro." Braxiatel replied instantly and his eyes widened, realizing where Romana was heading. "Daleks." They both snarled at the same time with hate before rushing off to find Martha, needing to warn her and the others before they heard screaming coming from the stage below them.

They found Tallulah backstage with the chorus girls, some looking terrified. "It was like something out of a movie show. Oh, that face. I ain't never gonna sleep." One of Tallulah's friends wept.

Romana and Braxiatel arrived, looking around frantic for Martha. "Where's Martha?" Romana demanded. One day she will find a companion who would not wonder off.

Tallulah blinked. "I don't know. She ran off the stage." As soon as she said that, they heard Martha screaming from the prop room and Romana and Braxiatel ran towards the sound and were followed closely by Tallulah and the reached the prop room only to find Martha gone.

"Martha!" Romana yelled and Braxiatel noticed the sewer lid was crooked and grabbed Romana's hand and headed towards it.

Tallulah eyed them. "Oi, where are you two goin'?"

"We have to get down there." Romana told ignoring Tallulah. "They've taken her and we're the only ones we can stop them. Oh, they will certainly be surprised to see us again." Braxiatel nodded and began to climb down into the sewer, Romana following after him.

Tallulah looked at them bemused. "What're y' doing? I said, what the hell are you doing? Crazy guy and mad gal." She rolled her eyes before quickly finishing a long coat and she put it on over her costume and followed the Time-Lord's down.

Romana groaned with despair, realizing what Tallulah was doing. "Tallulah, there is no way you are coming with us. It's far too dangerous and you're not even in the right clothes!"

Tallulah glared at her as she climbed down the last steps. "Tell me what's going on."

"There's nothing you can do, you are only going to put yourself at risk." Braxiatel warned her. "We're not going to protect you."

"Look, whoever's taken Martha, they could've taken Lazlo couldn't they?" She suggested hopefully, wanting to find her boyfriend. Lazlo was the only man she had ever truly loved and cared for and if she lost him now, she wouldn't know what to do anymore. Lazlo was her world.

"You're not safe down here." Romana repeated, trying to get Tallulah to see sense. "We can't vouch for your safety."

"Then that's my problem. Come on, which way?" Tallulah walked down a tunnel to the left, not letting the Time-Lord's change her mind.

Romana and Braxiatel shared a glance at each other before Braxiatel sighed. "This way." He grabbed Romana's hand and went down the tunnel in front of them and Tallulah followed, wrapping her coat around her tightly to keep warm.

They began to walk down another tunnel and Tallulah looked at Romana. "When you say '_They've taken her',_ who's they exactly? And who are you both anyway? I never asked."

Romana listened and she paused in her tracks, making the others too. "Be quiet." She hissed, hearing something coming, her battle instincts coming in.

"Okay, okay." Tallulah replied exaggerated.

"Be quiet!" Romana snapped once more as in the weak light of the tunnel in front of them, the shadow of a Dalek was approaching towards them and Romana froze with dread, her blood pounding through her ears.

"I mean you're extremely beautiful and you are handsome and all-" Tallulah began and Braxiatel put a hand over her mouth and pulled her back and Romana went beside him down the tunnel into a recess. The Dalek passed by without seeing them and they slowly emerged once the Dalek had disappeared.

Romana punched the wall, leaving a small dent in and Tallulah's eyes widened with surprise, not realizing how strong Romana was. "They had to survive!" She kicked the wall in anger. "They had to! They survived while we lose everything."

Braxiatel nodded grimly, glaring after the Dalek with hatred. "Curse the bastard Daleks." He swore in high-Gallifreyan.

"That metal thing? What was it?" Tallulah asked, looking confused.

"It's called a Dalek." Romana snarled hatefully. "And it's not just metal, it's a living being. Full of nothing but hate."

Tallulah laughed, not believing her. "You're kidding me."

Romana rounded up on her, looking angry. "Does it look like we're kidding to you?" She spat and Tallulah quickly sobered up. "Inside the Dalek shell is a creature born to hate whose only thought is to destroy everything that is not Dalek. It won't stop until it has killed everything within it's sight."

Tallulah looked at the Time-Lord's seeing the hate of the Dalek in their eyes and she wondered what could possibly make them hate the Dalek so much. "But if it's not a human being, that kinda implies it's from outer space." Braxiatel looked at her, deadly irritated. "Yet again, that's a 'no' with the kidding. Boy..." She glanced at the way the Dalek had come down. "Well, what's it doing here in, New York?"

Braxiatel pulled Tallulah by the arm, not answering her question. "The tunnels could be crawling with Daleks. We don't know how many of them they are. It's not safe for you to venture here. I'm taking you back up right now." They turned a corner to see a pig man and Tallulah screamed and the pig man tried to hide but failed.

Romana approached him. "Where's Martha? What have you done to her?"

"I didn't take her!" The pig man cried, hiding his face.

Romana and Braxiatel looked surprised at each other before Braxiatel slowly approached him. "Can you remember your name?"

"Don't look at me." The man cried, covering his face. He was a monster! His masters made him like this yet he had escaped his masters for good. But who knew how long he had left to live? His love was all that kept him going.

Tallulah moved forwards and she couldn't help but feel as though she recognized that voice. "Do you know where she is?"

"Stay back! Don't look at me!" The man almost pleaded as though he didn't want Tallulah to see himself more than Romana or Braxiatel.

"What happened?" Romana asked softly and a closer look revealed that he was more man than pig.

The man looked at her. "They made me a monster."

"You're not a monster." Romana told him firmly. "The Daleks are the monsters. Why have they done this to you?" She put a gentle hand on his shoulder and the man looked slightly comforted at the gesture.

"They needed slaves. They needed slaves to steal more people so they created us. Part animal, part human. I escaped before they got my mind, but it was still too late." The man replied, looking down at his feet.

"Do you know what happened to our friend Martha?" Braxiatel asked.

The man nodded. "They took her. It's my fault. She was following me."

"Were you in the theatre?" Tallulah asked, frowning.

"Yes."

"Why? Why were you there?"

The man tried not to meet her eyes and Romana and Braxiatel looked at him, all ready knowing who he was. "I never wanted you to see me like this." He hid his face once more.

Tallulah moved closer. "Why me? What do I gotta do with this? Were you following me? Is that why you were there?"

The pig man turned to face her, no longer hiding his face. "Yes." He looked at her hopefully.

"Who are you?"

"I was lonely."

"Who are you?" Tallulah asked again.

"I needed to see you." The man pleaded, trying to make her understand.

"Who are you?"

"I'm sorry." He began to turn away but Tallulah grabbed him.

"No, wait. Let me look at you." She placed him under the light and her eyes looked up hopefully, now knowing who he was. "Lazlo?" He nodded. "My Lazlo?" Her voice began to break. "Oh, what have they done to you?" Now she could understand why Romana and Braxiatel hated the Daleks.

"I'm sorry. So sorry." Lazlo began to cry and Tallulah hugged him, glad to have him back.

Braxiatel looked at him. "Lazlo, can you show us where they are?"

"They'll kill you." Lazlo warned.

Romana merely shrugged gracefully, unfazed. "They tried to kill me plenty of times in the past Lazlo. Never succeeded. Besides, if we don't stop the Daleks they will just end up killing everyone else."

"Then follow me." He turned and led them in the direction, holding onto Tallulah's hand as he did so. Lazlo lead them through the tunnels and took them where they saw Martha and Frank, the pig slaves guarding the prisoners suddenly started to squeal nervously and Lazlo ducks back out of sight, the Time-Lord's watching the scene.

"What they're doing? What's wrong?" Frank asked, confused as the pigs continued to squeal with fear.

Suddenly, the same Dalek from before glided into the tunnel. "Silence! Silence!"

"What the hell is that?" Martha gasped, looking at the Dalek with horror. She had never seen anything like it before! It was an ugly metal out of space dust bin.

"You will form a line. Move." The Dalek ordered and the pig men pushed everyone into line.

"Just do what it says, everyone okay? Just obey." Martha told everyone, trying to remain calm and Romana had to admire her. Oh, she was so glad she picked Martha Jones as a companion.

"The female is wise. Obey!" The Dalek continued when another Dalek arrived.

"Report!" The second Dalek announced.

"These are strong specimens. They will help the Dalek cause." The 1st Dalek reported.

"Dalek?" Martha whispered softly, realizing where she had heard that name from. These were the creatures that destroyed the Time-Lord's! And the battle of Canary Wharf where her cousin used to work! But how was that possible? How could they be here and how did they survive?

"What is the status of the Final Experiment?" Dalek 1 asked.

"The Dalekanium is in place. The energy conductor is now complete." Dalek 2 replied. Romana frowned. Dalekanium was the skin of the Dalek. This couldn't be good with whatever they were planning.

"Then I will extract prisoners for selection." A pig man brings an older man forward and the Dalek extends his sucker towards the mans face, scanning him. "Intelligence scan. Initiate. Reading brain waves. Low intelligence."

The man looked offended. "You calling me stupid?"

"This one will become a pig slave." The Dalek ordered and two pig slaves pulled him away, ignoring his cries of terror and the Dalek moved to the next person in line.

Lazlo looked at the Time-Lord's. "They're divided into two groups: high intelligence and low intelligence. The low intelligence are taken to become slaves like me."

"Well, that's not fair." Tallulah replied, affronted.

"Be quiet." Braxiatel whispered harshly to her, trying to get her to shut up.

"You're the smartest guy I ever dated." Tallulah whispered, ignoring Braxiatel.

"What happens to the high intelligence?" Romana asked.

"They're taken to the laboratory." Lazlo replied.

Romana looked at Braxiatel, looking deeply troubled. "What could they be planning this time? The Daleks are always planning something and it's always something awful."

Lazlo shrugged. "I don't know. The masters only call it the Final Experiment."

The Dalek continued to scan Frank. "Superior intelligence." The Dalek scanned Martha. "Superior intelligence. This one will become part of the final experiment."

They watched Martha struggle against the pig slaves, looking furious. "You can't just experiment on people! It's insane! It's inhuman!"

"We are not human. Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory." Dalek one told them and they began to move.

"They're moving!" Braxiatel hissed and he flattened himself and Romana against the wall and Lazlo took Tallulah and headed towards down the tunnel before stopping.

"Braxiatel, Romana. Quickly!" Lazlo encouraged them.

Braxiatel shook his head. "We're not going. We need to stop this." He looked back at the Daleks.

Tallulah tugged Lazlo's arm. "Lazlo, c'mon!"

Lazlo looked at her, so thankful she hadn't turned him away. "Can you remember the way?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

"Then go. Please." He begged.

Tallulah looked hurt. "But Lazlo, you gotta come with me."

Lazlo shook his head. "Where would I go? Tallulah, I'm begging you, save yourself. Just run. Just go. Go." Tallulah looked at him desperately before leaving them and Lazlo joined the Time-Lord's, The Daleks passed by and Braxiatel took Romana's hand and they both fall in line between Martha and Frank whilst Lazlo acts like one of the guards.

"Just keep walking." Romana whispered to Martha.

Martha looked so relieved. "I'm so glad to see you."

"Well, you can kiss me later. You too Frank if you want." Romana whispered and Frank grinned, so happy to see them despite the situation they were in.

"What about me?" Braxiatel whispered mockingly.

"And you too of course. As if I'd forget you." Romana smirked before they were brought into the Dalek lab and Romana recognized them as the cult of Skaro and Braxiatel hand clenched, seeing Dalek Sec, the Dalek that killed him in his last body. He will never forgive Dalek Sec for he tried to do to Romana and for killing him.

"Report!" Dalek Jast glided in.

"Dalek Sec is in the final stage of evolution." Dalek Caan reported and Braxiatel stiffened and Romana held his hand, knowing he was thinking about his last regeneration where Dalek had tried to kill her but he saved her and ended up regenerating instead.

"Scan him. Prepare for birth!" Dalek Jast began to scan Dalek Sec, smoke coming out from his case.

Romana frowned. "Evolution? What are the Cult of Skaro up to this time? Evolution of the Daleks?"

"What's wrong with old Charlie boy over there?" Martha whispered.

"Ask them." Romana indicated towards the Cult of Skaro.

Martha looked at them disbelievingly. "What me? Don't be daft."

"Last time we met them, they tried to kill me and succeed in killing Braxiatel," Romana whispered. "We don't exactly want to get noticed by them, at least not yet anyway."

Martha took a deep breathe, realizing she was right. "Daleks, I demand to be told. What is this Final Experiment? Report!"

"You will bear witness!" Dalek Thay replied.

Martha frowned, not understanding what it meant. "To what?"

"This is the dawn of a new age!"

"What does that mean?"

Dalek Thay looked at her. "We are the only four Daleks so the species must evolve a life outside the shell. The Children of Skaro must walk again!"

Suddenly, Dalek's Sec's shell powers down and the casing opened to reveal a Dalek-human hybrid. The clothing was unmistakably what once belonged to Diagoras and the Time-Lord's knew they must have used him for the experiment. The head was similar to a Dalek body with mouth, one eye and tentacles and the hands were claw-like.

Martha and the other humans gasped with horror, not liking what they saw. "What is it?" Martha asked, her voice hoarse.

Dalek Sec moved it's jaw as though testing it. "I am a human Dalek!" It told them slowly, getting used to it's new mouth. "I am your future!"


	15. Evolution of the Daleks: Dalek Sec

Dalek Sec turned to look at the humans. "These...humans will become like me." He pointed at them and Braxiatel grabbed Romana's hand and they both slipped unnoticed behind some machinery. "Prepare them for hybridisation!"

The pig slaves began to close in on Martha, Frank and the other prisoners and Martha began to struggle against them. "Leave me alone! Don't you dare!" She had no desire to become like _him. _Seeing the Daleks the first time, no wonder the Time-Lord's went to war with them! They were monsters! Evil monsters who caused nothing but pain to everyone around them.

Suddenly, the instrumental version of the song _'Happy Days Are Here Again,' _began to play on a nearby radio and everyone stopped and began to look around and began to wonder where it was coming from before they heard a female voice singing, and Martha realized it was Romana singing and she hadn't realized how soft and reassuring Romana's singing voice was. She hoped after all this mess was over that Romana would sing more often back in the TARDIS.

"What is that sound?" Dalek Sec demanded and Braxiatel and Romana stepped out, the radio in Braxiatel's hand.

"That would be us. Have you ever noticed that Lady Romanadvoratrelundar has a lovely singing voice?" Braxiatel commented and Romana smirked. He always did enjoy Romana's voice and to hear her sing, it was his pleasure.

"President Romanadvoratrelundar!" Dalek Sec cried in an almost human manner before looking at Braxiatel. How was it possible that she had survived the battle at Torchwood? He nearly killed her but another Time-Lord got in the way. He always held the desire to kill Romana himself, the killer of her own kind who once led her people into war. Oh, what a great satisfactory that will be! "And who might you be?"

"Last time we met, it was in the battle of Canary Wharf," Braxiatel began, walking beside Romana. "You tried to kill my lady Romana but I saved her but regenerated in the process. My brother has been an enemy of the Daleks for centuries before you finally killed him in the Time War. I'm Irving Braxiatel, the oncomings storm's brother." The Daleks moved slightly back, as though he too might turn into the Doctor and he smirked, looking pleased that they feared him just as much they feared the Doctor.

"Irving Braxiatel!" Dalek Sec spat. Oh, he had heard all about The Doctor's brother! The greatest enemy of the Daleks, the Oncoming storm is what they used to call the Doctor back on Skaro because they feared the Doctor so much and to hear the Oncoming storm having a brother, who knew what would happen? "From the Braxiatel Collection?"

"The one and only." He nodded in confirmation.

Romana stepped beside him. "And I told you before at Torchwood," She looked at the Daleks coldly. "I'm no longer President. Don't you Daleks ever listen? Rassilon took over me centuries ago before the Time War finished. But that's not the point," She shook her head before walking forwards. She was going to get rid of these filthy Daleks, no matter what.

"She is the enemy of the Daleks! Exterminate!" Dalek Caan raised it's weapon at Romana and Braxiatel tensed, ready to draw his blaster out if necessary.

"Wait!" Dalek Sec commanded and Braxiatel and Romana frowned, both wondering why Dalek Sec would save Romana's life but Dalek Caan obeyed. Was it possible that Dalek Sec was feeling...human? Braxiatel almost scoffed at the idea. Daleks were anything but human.

Romana raised a perfectly sculptured eyebrow. "A new form of Dalek and here I thought you ran out of ideas to make me sick." She sneered in disgust. After everything they have done, the Daleks will just keep on making her looking at them in hatred. All these evil ideas that had to be stopped, no wonder why the Doctor became the number one enemy in the Dalek home world.

"The Cult of Skaro escaped your slaughter." Dalek Sec reminded her, as though blaming her for everything that happened that day.

"By escaping to 1930 by the looks of it," She glared at him. "Let me guess, you escaped by using Emergency Temporal Shift?" She scoffed. "That must have burnt up all your poster cells! Ha!" She strode away and Braxiatel began to look around. "You're the Cult of Skaro. Think as the enemy thinks. Centuries ago, four Daleks let alone one simple Dalek could have conquered the world but look at you now, skulking away in the dark, experimenting. Like you experimented on me all those centuries ago." She looked straight into Dalek's Sec eye, ignoring Martha's and Frank's gasp of horror at her confession. "Don't you think I have forgotten all those experiments your kind did on me. But look at you now, Dalek Sec, a Dalek in human form." Before anyone could stop her, Romana grabbed Braxiatel's blaster from his jacket and pointed it straight at Dalek's Sec's head. "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you now."

"Drop the weapon!" The Daleks cried, advancing towards her. They wouldn't dare let the Time-Lady kill their leader!

"Romana!" Braxiatel shouted, bewildered.

Romana ignored him and tightened her grip on the blaster, everyone staring at her with wide eyes but Dalek Sec merely blinked. "That...is...so...very Dalek of you." He commented. "You would not dare kill me." And he knew she wouldn't. He could tell that Romana learnt a lot of lessons from her friend the Doctor and whilst she was President back on Gallifrey. Dalek Sec knew the fact that Romana would never want herself to be Dalek like as she despised the Daleks more than anything else in creation and to see her become Dalek like, very much pleased him because he knew how to press all her buttons to make her be like them.

"After everything you have done to me, I generally do not know." Romana replied coldly and she didn't and that was what terrified Romana. Romana always knew what she was going to do but after everything the Daleks had done, revenge was what was on her mind and she wanted to wipe out all the bloody Daleks out of the sky. The Daleks had caused nothing but hell and misery to Romana's life and Romana knew she would never ever forgive the Dalek race for what they have done. "And doesn't that frighten you? And never, ever compare me to a Dalek again! I'm a Time-Lady, through and through."

"Oh, but Romana. You...are beginning to think like a Dalek. So much...hate towards us! And that is...beautiful." Dalek Sec commented as though in awe.

Romana was about to shoot him but Braxiatel stopped her, stepping in between them."Move out of the way Braxiatel!" Romana snarled, furious that he had the nerve to step in the way of her killing Dalek Sec. "He's a vulnerable Dalek out of his shell! Tell me why I should not kill him on the spot! After all, he killed you too!"

"_Romana, think this very carefully." _Braxiatel commented telepathically. _"This is not the way to do things. I want to destroy the Daleks as much as you do but killing them like this is murder! Would this satisfy you in doing so? We will defeat them and will destroy them once and for all, but not in this manner. Do you understand?"_

Romana knew that Braxiatel was right. She couldn't destroy the Daleks, not like this. It would only make her even more _Dalek _as her enemy puts it. She would destroy them but not whilst she was outnumbered and what would be the point of it? It would leave her no satisfactory, only to remind her what a cold-blooded murderer she truly was. She glared at Dalek Sec hatefully before slowly lowering down Braxiatel's blaster and Braxiatel gently took it off her and she looked up at him. "Since when did you become so wise?"

"Since I met you." He replied gently before he turned around to face Dalek Sec. "How does that make you feel now Dalek? How does it feel to be so...human?"

Dalek Sec looked at him. "I remember killing you." He and Braxiatel shared a look with each other. He remembered every killing he made and even in the Time-War, Dalek Sec could remember killing hundreds of Time-Lord's and Time-Ladies who were all too naïve and unaware of the true power he held. But yet, this Time-Lord was different from all the rest. He knew of the powers that Dalek Sec held and Braxiatel's main goal was to protect Romana and he took his aim so seriously, that he let Dalek Sec kill him instead. "You were protecting her...so very Time-Lord...and yet...I... feel humanity."

"That's a change." Romana let out a bitter laugh.

"I...feel...everything we wanted from mankind, which is ambition, hatred, aggression and war. Such...a genius for war." Dalek Sec blinked. Oh! The things he could do with the Human Race! The human race was very similar to the Dalek race in many ways and now they had complete control of them, he would use them for the Dalek's own gain. They should have done this centuries back!

"That's not humanity. That's Dalek." Romana sneered. "Daleks will never understand the concept of humanity."

"Neither does it seem Time-Lords will either." Dalek Sec replied and Romana paused in her tracks, her fingers twitching. "But...I think it does mean humanity. At heart, this species is so very...Dalek."

"So that's your Final Experiment then." Romana looked at him. "What have you achieved though? You've achieved nothing at all. Unless you're creating an army of human-Dalek hybrids?" She raised an eyebrow. "Is that your plan? To create an army of human-Dalek hybrids to take over Earth and the rest of the creation? When will you ever stop?"

"Romana's right." Braxiatel nodded. "But you're missing something." He pointed to the radio he placed down on a nearby table. "You're missing this simple human radio."

"What is the purpose of that device?" Dalek Jast asked, looking at it.

Braxiatel smirked. "Oh Daleks, as clever as you are, you will never understand the concept of music. Music is everything and I am a man of very fine tastes. You can dance to it, sing with it, fall in love to it." He looked at Romana briefly before looking back at Dalek Sec. "Unless you're a Dalek of course. Daleks will never understand music because music is just noise." He pointed his sonic pen at the radio and a high pitch wail emanates from it. Dalek Sec holds his head in pain whilst the other Daleks act erratically.

Romana turned to the prisoners. "Run!" She shouted and Braxiatel grabbed her hand and the prisoners escaped, the Time-Lord's following them.

Martha led the prisoners running through the sewers before stopping at a junction, unsure which way to go before Braxiatel still holding Romana's hand came running past them, leading the way. "This way!" He barked out at them, and they run down a tunnel to find a lost looking Tallulah. "You as well Tallulah! Run!"

Tallulah looked at them bewildered, running after them. "What happened to Lazlo?" She asked, running after them. Why wasn't Lazlo with them? Has something happened to him? Oh, she hoped that the Daleks haven't done anything worse to her dear Lazlo than they have already.

They kept on running as they saw the pig slaves and two Daleks following and Braxiatel led everyone up the ladder. "Everyone up!" Romana ordered as they begin to climb and everyone did, Tallulah climbing up last and the Time-Lord's quickly sealed the exit with their sonic screwdrivers.

Braxiatel looked at Romana. "Did you really know if you were going to kill Dalek Sec?" He asked, looking at her.

Romana moved a strand of hair away from her eyes before looking at him in the eyes. "If you hadn't stood in my way, eventually I would have done."

"Then it was a good job I did because you're not a cold blooded murder Romana."

"Oh I can be." Romana countered, causing Martha to look at her in surprise. "But come, now is not the time and place to talk. We need to get back to camp."

* * *

It was a little while later and all of them including Tallulah were back at Hooverville, sitting around a fire and sitting on crates. Solomon was glad to have Frank back and was more than grateful for his return. He cared about the young, but Frank was kind and smart and he always put others first before himself which is what not a lot of people would do these days and it was rare for Solomon to find someone like Frank. He looked over at the Time-Lord's who were sat next to each other, whispering in a language he could not understand and he cleared his throat, making them look up at him. "These Daleks, they sound like the stuff of nightmares. And they wanna breed?"

Romana ran a hand through her messy black hair. She was so weary of fighting against the Daleks. No matter how many times she keeps on defeating them, the Daleks are always going to be there gaining so much more whilst she and Braxiatel lose everything they held dear. Was this how the Doctor felt every time he came across them?"Stuff of nightmares all right." She nodded. "Daleks do not breed. They splice themselves into human bodies. Centuries back when I was a prisoner of the Daleks, they would tend to keep laboratory farms back on their home planet for experiments but this time, it looks to me they've got a breeding stock, using Hooverville for resources." She looked at Solomon in the eye. "You have to get everyone out for their own safety."

Solomon frowned. She said centuries but yet she looked younger than he was. She was talking in riddles but at the same time, it all made sense. And her as Prisoner of these Daleks? How on Earth did she escape? "Hooverville's the lowest place a man can fall. There's nowhere else to go."

"We're sorry Solomon. But what would you rather see, the people of Hooverville including the children turned into monsters created by the Daleks? Or would you rather see them safe and far out of reach from the Daleks?" Romana pressed. "I know which option I would choose."

Solomon knew she was right but that didn't mean he liked it. "There's got to be a way to reason with these things." He protested.

Romana let out a bitter laugh, causing everyone to look at her. "I've tried that when I was President back on my home world," She told them. "Thousands and thousands of times I have tried to make the Dalek race see reason. Isn't that right Braxiatel?"

Braxiatel nodded. "The Daleks are creatures born out of hate. They do not see goodness, only hate and anger. They are the worst nightmares possible."

Frank looked at Solomon, confirming Braxiatel's statement. "You ain't seen 'em boss." Solomon looked troubled.

"Trust me, any normal Dalek are horrible enough. But these are not normal Daleks. These are the Cult of Skaro and they are some of the highest ranking Daleks in existence. They are soldiers. They were created to strive new ideas on how to survive and think as the enemy thinks. They even dared themselves to have names. Now the Cult of Skaro are vulnerable and vulnerable Daleks are dangerous because they have nothing left to lose." Romana told them seriously.

Suddenly they heard people blow a whistle, warning them that the pig slaves were here and people began to scream. "They're coming! They're coming!" A sentry cried, making his way over to them.

Solomon got up to his feet, looking through the entrance of his tent. "A sentry. Must have seen something."

"They're here! I seen 'em! Monsters! They're monsters!" The sentry looked terrified.

"It's started." Braxiatel commented darkly, helping Romana up to her feet. "Everyone to arms!"

The men started to pass out guns and other weapons they had collected and Braxiatel took out his blaster, loading it quickly. Martha eyed it uneasily but knew it would come in handy as she and the others formed a tight circle.

Frank looked at them. "I'm ready boss, but al o' you! Find a weapon! Use anything!" Some of the residents run off, too scared to do anything and Frank could hardly blame them. Who wouldn't want to run away from the Daleks?

Solomon looked after them in despair. "Come back! We gotta stick together! It's not safe out there! Come back!" He watched, knowing he could do nothing as the pig slaves began to attack those who tried escape.

Martha looked at the Time-Lord's. "We need to get out of the park." It was too dangerous for anyone to stay here.

"We can't, the pig slaves have covered all sides. They're driving people back to us!" Romana called as Braxiatel fired at one of the pig slaves and the slave dropped dead on the floor and he began to aim at another.

"We're trapped!" Tallulah cried, looking frantic. She didn't want to die and she certainly didn't want to be turned into a monster.

"Thank you for spelling out the obvious." Braxiatel retorted sarcastically and Tallulah rolled her eyes.

Solomon shook his head. "Then we stand together. Gather 'round. Everybody come to me. You there, Jethro, Harry, Seamus, stay together." He told his friends and they all obeyed as the pig slaves forced everyone into a tight circle by the fire. "They can't take all of us." He and Braxiatel began to fire, Braxiatel blaster firing lasers and Solomon looked at Braxiatel's gun, frowning as he had never seen a gun like it before firing once more from his own gun.

"If we can just hold them off till daylight." Martha said desperately, going behind Romana. She was frightened and she had never been this terrified before in her life. The kidnapping from New New York was nothing compared to this!

"I'm afraid the pig slaves are just the footsoldiers." Romana called darkly, looking into the sky and everyone began to look up.

"Oh my god." Martha cried as she saw a Dalek flying high above them, heading straight towards the circle. If this was just four Daleks attacking against them, she dreaded to think what it was like fighting a whole battle fleet of them during the Time War.

Solomon mouth dropped open. "What in the world-"

"It's the devil! A devil in the sky. God save us all. It's damnation!" The sentry cried.

Frank scoffed. "Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" He lifted his rifle and fired at the Dalek but the bullets did no damage and Braxiatel quickly pushed down Frank's rifle.

"Guns won't work," He began seriously and Frank looked surprised. Guns always worked on everything! "We know because our kind went to war with them." Frank stared at him.

Suddenly, another Dalek appeared and Martha tapped his shoulder. "There's more than one of them." The Daleks began to attack and fired upon the settlement and caused explosions and small fires around the camp.

"Leave the humans alone! It's me who you want!" Romana yelled desperately and she made her way to the front, next to Braxiatel and before anyone could do anything to stop her, she strode forward purposefully, arms out to her side and confronts Dalek Jast and Thay. "It's my turn! You have me exactly where you want! Just leave these humans alone, they have done nothing to you. The Time War has gone on for long enough now. I am your enemy just as you are mine! Kill me! Go on, kill me!" She screamed and began beating on her chest, indicating where her hearts were. She didn't want to see any more death and destruction that was caused by the Daleks. She had seen to much of it all ready. Too much and it hurts.

"Romana, no!" Braxiatel shouted, not believing what he was seeing and he aimed his blaster at the Dalek, ready to fire.

"I will be the destroyer of the women who killed her own kind!" Dalek Thay replied, eyeing it's eyestalk on her.

"Go on because you have all ready made my life a living hell!" Romana screamed, beating her chest furiously. She was ready to die. She was ready to join her people and family once and for all. "Leave the humans and Braxiatel alone and just get rid of me for once and for all! Because you have me exactly where you have always wanted all these centuries. Kill me like you killed The Doctor. Go on! Just do it you cowards! Kill me!"

"Extermin-" Dalek Thay began.

"Stop! I command you. Stop!" They heard Dalek Sec spoke through the communicator.

"I do not understand! It is Romanadvoratrelundar! Once President of Gallifrey and the enemy of the Daleks!"

"I want her and Braxiatel alive." Dalek Sec insisted. He had great plans for them both and both will be extremely useful for the Final Experiment! Oh, the children of Skaro will rise again!

"The urge to kill is too strong." Dalek Thay replied and Romana sneered.

"I have decided the Time-Lord's must live and you will obey me!"

"I...obey." Dalek Thay replied almost hesitatingly.

"All these centuries and you still can't kill me." Romana laughed harshly but she couldn't help but be relieved at the fact she was able to live longer. "What's happening up there Dalek? Too scared to kill me?"

"You and Braxiatel will follow." Dalek Thay insisted and Braxiatel slowly put away his blaster.

"No! You can't go!" Martha cried, striding forward. She couldn't bare if if anything happened to the Time-Lord's! How would she get home? And more importantly, how would they stop the Daleks?

Romana looked at her seriously. "We have to Martha. The Daleks have just changed their minds and that's what worry me. The Daleks never change their minds about anything; even when they have the opportunity to kill me and I am their number one enemy.

Braxiatel nodded in agreement. The Dalek would do anything to kill Romana and to be refused an opportunity like this was worrisome. "She's right Martha. We have to go."

Martha bit her lip. "But what about us?"

Romana looked back at the people of Hooverville before turning to face the Daleks, looking deadly serious. "There is one condition! If Braxiatel and myself come with you, you'll have to promise us that you will spare the lives of everyone here! Do you hear me Daleks?"

"The humans will be spared. Braxiatel and Romanadvoratrelundar will follow." Dalek Thay told her.

"Then I'm coming here." Martha insisted. She didn't want to be left alone, not here where anything could happen.

Romana shook her head. "You have to stay here Martha. You have your own duties here Martha. People are hurt and they need you." Martha looked at Romana before she strode off with Braxiatel to follow them and Martha looked after her, hurt and alone before Romana paused and looked back. "Thank you for everything Martha." She grips Martha's hands with both of hers and winks before walking off and Martha realized she has given her the psychic paper.

* * *

It was a little while later after the incident and Martha was applying a bandage to a man's arm when Tallulah walked in with a pot of water. "Here you go. I got some more on the boil."

"Thanks." Martha smiled before turning to the man. "You'll be all right. It's just a cut. Try and keep it clean."

"Thanks." The man nodded gratefully before leaving.

Tallulah leaned against the wall, frowning. "What did the Daleks mean about Romana being the killer of her own kind? Are she and Braxiatel aliens too?" She pointed towards the sky, indicating where she thought the aliens lived.

"I can't tell you all of what happened because it's Romana's and Braxiatel's wishes not to. But yes, Romana and Braxiatel are aliens. They may look like us but they are completely different species all together." Martha sent Tallulah a small smile. "But I can tell you the basics of what happened. Romana was President on her own home-world but then the Daleks wanted to use something from their home world for their own gain but Romana wouldn't let them; knowing they would use it for evil purposes so they went to war together. Their people against the Daleks for the sake of all creation. In the end, both planets have been wiped off and Romana and Braxiatel are the only ones left of their kind."

Tallulah sat there, shocked as she took the story in. So that was why Romana and Braxiatel hated the Daleks so much. Why Romana wanted to sacrifice herself so she could join her family and friends and it made so much sense on how they knew so much about the Daleks in the first place. Even though it was only the basics of it, she couldn't understand how anyone would want to blow up their home planet. She couldn't imagine what it was like to feel like the last of her kind and she shuddered at the thought. She would have gone insane if she had been in Romana's place and Tallulah couldn't help but feel more respect for the woman and a great admiration for her more than she had before. She looked over at Martha. "So what about us? What do we do now?"

"Romana gave me this. She must have a reason for giving it to me." Martha pulled out the psychic paper and showed it to Tallulah. What could she do with the psychic paper? Oh, Martha knew it's main purpose and aim but why had Romana given it to her? What was the point? And more importantly, where did Romana wanted her to go to?

Tallulah frowned at the blank piece of paper. What was so important about it? "What's that for?"

Martha began to tap against it, thinking deeply. "Gets you into places, buildings and things. But where? She and Braxiatel must want me to go somewhere but what am I supposed to do?"


	16. Evolution of the Daleks: Hooked Up

Romana and Braxiatel arrived in the Dalek lab and Romana made her way angrily over to Dalek Sec, looking furious. "Those humans were defenceless! You only wanted us but no, you had to start attacking the humans because that's what Daleks do!" The poor humans were defenceless! They were the lowest of the low and the Daleks knew that! They could have marched into camp and dragged Romana and Braxiatel out themselves but no, they had to attack the defenceless humans who had no part in this business and that was what made Romana furious. Whilst she did not care for humans as much as the Doctor did, she held a slight soft spot for them because Leela had been a human and not only that, the humans were the Doctor's favourite species and Braxiatel holds some connection to humans due to his mother. Humans were primitive at times but Romana knew that they were strong survivors and will mostly likely survive anything.

"The attacks were unnecessary." Dalek Sec admitted.

Romana and Braxiatel shared an uneasy look with each other. "Am I hearing that right? A Dalek admitting what he did was wrong?" Romana scoffed. No Dalek would ever truly admit what they did was wrong! A Dalek always knew what it's intentions were and it always thought that it's intentions were right. Such as wanting to exterminate everything that wasn't Dalek.

"You showed a tremendous amount of courage." Dalek Sec commented Romana.

"And?"

"That's excellent."

Braxiatel frowned. A Dalek commenting on emotion and feelings? Now that was something he did not get to see everyday, even if it was coming from a Dalek who killed him in the past. "It seems to me this Human-Dalek experiment is causing you to be more human, the human taking over the Dalek side. How about that mmm?"

Dalek Sec ignored his comment, denying he was right. "You two are the last of your kind and now I am the first of mine."

"Cut the small talk Dalek Sec." Romana snapped, not in the mood to be treated like a mere idiot. She wanted to get rid of these Daleks once and for all. She did not want to talk to them or negotiate with them. After everything they have done to her and Braxiatel, the Daleks deserved to go to hell. "What do you want us for? Over these centuries you have always wanted to kill me. What made you change your mind? Why now?"

Dalek Sec indicated around his lab. "Time-Lord's are geniuses and we need geniuses. We tried everything to survive when we found ourselves stranded in this ignorant age. First we tried growing new embryos but their flesh was too weak."

"Yes, we found one of your experiments." Braxiatel spoke dryly. What a waste of an embryo! Even though it was Dalek creation, no embryo deserved to end up in a fate such as that for life was sacred.

"It forced us to conclude what is the greatest resource of this planet-it's people." Dalek Sec lifted a giant switch on the wall and the ceiling above them lights up to show hundreds of human bodies lying suspended. Dalek Sec lifted another switch and one of the bodies was lowered, covered by a cloth. "We stole them. We stole human beings for our purpose. Look...inside." Dalek Sec indicated towards the human underneath the cloth. Braxiatel opens the shroud to reveal the foreman from this morning. "This...is the extent of the Final Experiment."

Romana shook her head, disgusted. "You wiped all these humans minds to be filled with Dalek ideas. How many more humans have you got here? How many more innocent humans have you killed?"

"We have caverns beyond this storing more than a thousand." Dalek Sec replied before glancing at Braxiatel. "The human race...was always the Doctors favourite species was it not?"

"That's true The human race was always my brother's favourite." Braxiatel nodded in agreement. "And here you are, using them as shells. Humans ready to be converted into Daleks. But tell us, how are you going to do it mmm? The experiment itself is going to be needing a lot of power and this primitive planet has not even split the atom yet."

Dalek Sec turned to the other Daleks. "Open the conductor."

* * *

Solomon entered the tent to see Tallulah searching through papers and Martha pacing, tapping the psychic paper in her hand. "Any luck?" He asked and Tallulah shook her head before glancing at Martha.

Martha frowned, recalling something the Daleks mentioned earlier in the sewers. "Hold on. Solomon, down when I was in the sewers, the Daleks mentioned this energy conductor."

Tallulah and Solomon shared a glance with each other, Solomon frowning. "What energy conductor?"

"They mentioned something to do with Dalekanium. They said the Dalekanium was in place." Martha repeated, recalling what the Daleks was talking about. But what was Dalekanium? Was it some sort of metal? And why were the Daleks so keen on it being in 'placed'?

"In place where?" Tallulah sniffled, wrapping her coat tighter around her.

"Tell ya what, Frank might know." Solomon suggested and the three of them nodded, leaving Solomon's tent and finding Frank near a warm fire. "Frank, Martha needs you."

"Yes boss." Frank looked up to see Martha standing near him and he indicated for Martha to move closer.

"Frank? You know that Mr. Diagoras, he was like some sort of fixer, yeah? Got you jobs all over town?" Martha asked him.

Frank nodded. "Yeah. He could find a profit anywhere." How, nobody knew but Diagoras always made sure his workers had a job. He may not be a nice man but he helped people earn money and that was all anybody wanted. A good enough wage to survive on was all that mattered even if the job itself was terrible.

"But where though? What sort of things?"

Frank shrugged."You name it. We're all so desperate for work, you just hoped Diagoras would pick you for something good. Building work. That pays for best."

"But what sort of building work?" Martha stressed.

"Mainly that building." This time it was Solomon who pointed towards the Empire State building and they all turned their heads towards it and Martha grinned, knowing that was where all her answers were laying there.

* * *

Back in the Dalek laboratory, Dalek Sec was showing the Time-Lord's an animated graphic of their plan. Romana looked at it with a boredom. She had seen things similar to this plan many times. "So you've hijacked the Empire State building. We get it, but why?"

"We needed an energy conductor." Dalek Sec replied.

"Why? Daleks don't need an energy conductor." Braxiatel reasoned and why would they? An energy conductor is nothing to them.

"I...am the genetic template. My altered DNA was to be administered to each human body. A strong enough blast of gamma radiation can splice the Dalek and human genetic codes and wake each body from its sleep."

"Using Gamma radiation from the sun." Braxiatel nodded, understanding. "But what do you need us for? Where do we come into this plan of yours?"

"Time-Lord's are geniuses." Dalek Sec repeated, making Romana and Braxiatel glance at each other. "Full of intelligence and new ideas. Consider a pure Dalek; intelligent but emotionless."

"Removing the emotions to make you stronger. That's what Davros did all those centuries ago." Romana pointed out, making them think back to Davros the creator of the Daleks. Braxiatel was luckily and did not have to meet him but he knew Romana had but that didn't mean he didn't know of Davros.

Dalek Sec turned to her quickly, wanting to avoid any mention of Davros. He was nothing but a coward! "He was wrong."

Romana laughed, not believing her ears. "He was wrong? How was he wrong?"

"It makes us lesser than our enemies. We must return to the flesh." Dalek Sec told them, surprising both Time-Lord's. At this statement, the other members of the Cult of Skaro became concerned, looking at each other. "And also...the heart."

"Then the Daleks will be reduced to nothing." Romana pointed out. Was this what the Daleks have come too? After all these centuries and the Daleks have reduced to this? "You would not be the supreme beings anymore and Daleks won't be the Daleks they are today.

"And that is good." Dalek Sec nodded.

"That is incorrect!" Dalek Thay rounded up on them, gliding to Dalek Sec.

"Daleks are supreme!" Dalek Caan replied.

"No, not anymore." Dalek Sec told them. Romana and Braxiatel shared an uneasy glance, knowing this was what similar started the Dalek civil war.

"But that is our purpose!" Dalek Caan reminded him.

"Then our purpose is wrong! Where has our quest for supremacy led us? To this. Even the oncoming storm is dead and we need not longer fear him. Hiding in the sewers on a primitive world. Just four of us left. If we do not change now then we deserve extinction." Dalek Sec pointed out.

"You want to change everything that makes a Dalek a Dalek." Braxiatel commented. "And you want us to help?" When he said help, more like force them since they really had no other choice in the matter. Braxiatel nor Romana had no desire to help these Daleks. Not after they destroyed all their friends and families and all the children back on Gallifrey. The Daleks deserved no help from anyone.

"Yes, that is exactly what I mean." Dalek sec nodded.

* * *

Martha, Solomon, Tallulah and Frank were all in a service lift of the Empire State building. Martha smiled briefly. "I always wanted to go to the Empire State. Never imagined it quite like this, though." If anyone told her she'll be visting the Empire State building before it was even finished and be fighting Daleks and pig-men, she'll tell them to get a medical check-up. But Martha knew she couldn't ask for a better way of living. It was just so exhilarating and exciting and the fact that these Time-Lord's were offering her the whole of time and space to her, to take her as a companion meant a lot for she knew they chose their companions wisely.

"Where are headed anyway?" Frank questioned, standing next to Solomon.

"To the top where they're still building." Martha replied.

Solomon frowned. "Explain to me again. How come those guys let us through? They didn't even look at us properly."

Martha showed them the psychic paper. "Psychic paper. Shows them whatever I want them to think. According to this, we're two engineers and two architectures."

Frank took the psychic paper and flipped the empty paper over in his hands and Solomon studied it. "Those could come in handy." Solomon commented and Frank couldn't help but agree.

* * *

"Time-Lord's have greater knowledge of genetic engineering even greater than our own. The new race must be ready by the time the solar flare erupts." Dalek Sec commented.

"Dalek Sec, you are nothing but a template." Romana countered, trying him to make him see her view.

"I want to change the gene sequence."

Braxiatel blinked. "To make them even more human?" He let out a dark chuckle. "There is no way the rest of the Cult of Skaro are going to let you continue with this plan. Especially when you are making them more human and less Dalek like."

"I am their leader." Dalek Sec told him firmly, pointing towards his Daleks proudly.

Romana turned to look at the other Daleks. "And that's good enough for you isn't it?" But Romana knew what they were planning. Once they had finished the experiment, they would kill Dalek Sec on the spot and use the human-Dalek hybrids for their own ambitions. She could tell the rest of the Cult of Skaro did not agree with Dalek Sec's plans. She knew the Daleks all to well. The Daleks were Daleks and they wanted nothing mixed in with their blood! They considered themselves pure and supreme and did not dare mix with any other species.

"Daleks must follow orders." Dalek Thay replied.

"Dalek Sec commands, we obey." Dalek Caan told them.

"If you two don't help me...nothing will change." Dalek Sec almost pleaded.

"You do realize there's no room on Earth for another race of people?" Braxiatel enquired. "Not only that, you will end up changing the Time-Lines all together and we will not allow you to change that. We are Time-Lord's after all."

"You have a TARDIS with you," Dalek Sec replied and Braxiatel couldn't help but smirk because the Cult of Skaro didn't know which TARDIS survived. "Take us across the stars. Find us a new home and allow the new Daleks to start again."

Romana and Braxiatel shared a look. "When does this solar flare start?" Romana asked.

"Eleven minutes."

"Right then. Braxiatel, give me a helping hand please." Romana and Braxiatel shared a smirk before getting to the task at hand. They would never give the Daleks what they want. Not after everything they have done to them.

* * *

Martha, Solomon, Frank and Tallulah entered the top floor which was left a mess with plans tied up so that they wouldn't escape through the wind. Tallulah twirled in the centre, smiling. "Look at this place. Top of the world."

Martha spots the architectural plans and went over to them. "Okay, now this looks good." Frank and Solomon joined over to her, looking at the plans.

Frank pointed at the date. He was so glad that his mama taught him how to read. He always loved reading and he was so glad that he was one of the few kids who got education for he knew there were a lot of people worse of who could barely read or write. His mama used to be a English teacher before she married his papa and she made sure that all of her children could read and write before they were sent off into the real world. "Hey, look at the date. These designs were issued today. They must've changed something last minute."

Solomon looked at him. "You mean those Daleks could've changed somethin'?"

"Yeah, could be."

Martha looked at the drawings. "The ones underneath, they're from before. That means that whatever they changed must be on this top sheet but not this one. We need to check one against the other."

Tallulah walked over to where the windows should be. "The height of this place. This is amazing!" Tallulah gasped, in awe of its beauty.

Martha glanced over at her. "Careful, we're a hundred floors up. Don't go wandering off."

"Yeah, we're not gonna rescue ya young lady." Solomon scolded.

Tallulah rolled her eyes. "I just wanna see." She walked to the open area overlooking the city. No wonder the aliens wanted to invade the Earth. It was beautiful from above. "New York City. If aliens had to come to Earth, no wonder they came here."

* * *

In the lab, Braxiatel was checking the equipment whilst Romana was checking up the readouts. Romana frowned. "Obviously there is no point in chromosomal grafting. You have to split the genome and force the Dalek-Human sequence right into the cortex." Romana stated, looking at some of the equations.

"We need more chromation solution." Dalek Sec ordered.

"The pig slaves have it." Dalek Jast replied and the pig slaves walked into the room, carrying a large crate and Romana and Braxiatel spotted Lazlo as one of them.

"These pig slaves, where do they fit into your final experiment?" Romana asked, glancing over at Lazlo.

"Nothing. They're just simple beasts. Their lifespan is limited. None survive beyond a few weeks. Power up the engine feed." Dalek Sec replied, dismissing the topic.

Romana indicated for Braxiatel to talk to Lazlo and he nodded before walking over to him. "Lazlo, we may never be able to undo what they've done to you. But Romana and I can promise you this; it will not happen to anyone else again."

Lazlo glanced at Dalek Sec before looking back at Braxiatel. "Do you trust him?"

"We can never trust a Dalek," Braxiatel whispered. "Not after all that has happened." Lazlo nodded in understanding.

"_Braxiatel, you're being watched by Dalek Caan." _Romana warned and Braxiatel quickly walked back to Romana, grateful for her warning.

"I think my lady, working along side the Daleks is making us believe in the impossible." Braxiatel commented before helping her carry some equipment. "Best be working mmm?"

* * *

Martha had the plans spread out on the floor and was kneeling, studying them. The rest of the gang standing nearby.

"Me and Frank will keep an eye out to make sure we're safe. Don't want nobody buttin'in." Solomon told them and he patted Frank on the back and they both walked out of the side door.

"There's a hell of a storm movin'in." Tallulah commented and she wondered if it was ironic with everything that was happening around them. To her, life was a storm and right now the storm was fiercer than ever.

"I wish Romana or Braxiatel were here. They would both know what we're looking for." Martha sighed as she looked at the plans. Trying to spot the differences. She had always hated that game when she was a child when she played it with Tish and Leo.

"So tell me, where did you three meet?" Tallulah asked, sitting down next do Martha.

"It was in a hospital, sort of." Martha smiled, remembering how she first met the two Time-Lord's What a day that had been! It seemed so far away since she first met them but she knew she could just go back in time to the day she met them and it would be like nothing has ever changed.

"Ah of course. With Braxiatel being a Doctor." Tallulah nodded, it made sense.

"Actually I'm the Doctor. Well, kind of." Martha replied. If she ever passed her exams back home that was.

Tallulah looked impressed. For a women to be a Doctor in these times, that was impressive. "You're a physician?" Martha nodded. "_Really_?"

"I'm training. Still am, if I ever get back home. Romana was President back in her home world and Braxiatel had several jobs. One of them being a curator of his own museum."

"What a partnership! Are Romana or Braxiatel y'know...hooked up?" Tallulah asked suggestively despite Romana's and Braxiatel's age difference.

Martha laughed gently. "Hooked up? I think...I think they have a sense of admiration and understanding for each other. But both of them are so stubborn and very proud of who they are. They had this...friend a while back but she did something dreadful so they've been travelling on their own for a while and they've both lost a lot and I think...they just remember what they've both lost and it pains them."

"Aw, listen sweetheart. You wanna get all sad? Do Romana and Braxiatel wanna have a contest with me and Lazlo?" Tallulah retorted angrily.

Martha blinked before shaking her head. Where had Tallulah gotten that idea from? Tallulah was the one who asked the question."No. But listen, if Romana and Braxiatel are with Lazlo right now, there's every chance they could get him out."

"And then what? Don't talk crazy. There's no future for me and him. Those Dalek things took that away. The one good thing I had in my life and they destroyed it." Tears welled up in her eyes and she quickly stood up and walked back to the open area, her mind drifting over to Lazlo. The Daleks stole her happy ending. The only happy ending she thought she had and the Daleks have turned that into dust. But she knew she'll love Lazlo no matter what but she knew it was never going to be the same again.

* * *

"The line feeds are ready." Dalek Jast reported and Braxiatel rushed up to a bunch of tubes and extracted the solution inside with a syringe.

Dalek Sec looked at them. "The solar flare is imminent. The radiation...will reach Earth in a matter of minutes."

"Are you doubting us Dalek Sec?" Romana leered. "We're Time-Lord's. We do everything on time." Braxiatel inserted the syringe into one of the main feeding tubes and injects the solution. "The compound will allow the gene bonds to reconfigure in a brand new pattern. You just have to power it up now." One of the pig slaves turns on a power switch as does Lazlo.

"Start...the line feeds." Dalek Sec commanded and Dalek Caan started the machinery and they all looked up to see the solution moving through the tubes. "The life blood." He commented and the solution started to course up to the bodies.

* * *

"Gotcha! Look!" Martha grinned in victory and pointed at the plans and Tallulah quickly joined her. "There, on the mast. Those little lines? They're new. They've added something else, see?"

Tallulah frowned, not seeing where she was pointing. "Added what?"

They both looked at each other in sudden realization, now getting what was on top of the building. "Dalekanium!" Martha laughed with delight.


End file.
